


Lost

by TyrantLizardKing



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Attempt at a Longer Story, Drama, Emotional, F/M, Romance, WIP
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:01:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 24,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26145307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TyrantLizardKing/pseuds/TyrantLizardKing
Summary: A series of unfortunate events lead to the birth of Shadow Makoto. Will Ren be able to change the heart of his lover before it's too late?
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Niijima Makoto
Comments: 10
Kudos: 68





	1. Premonition

The time was now. His gun barrel rested squarely against the head of his target. Each gloved finger was carefully composed around the handle, index ready to pull back the trigger and unleash the destructive power within. He was a professional at this now. Even beneath the mask, his eyes always looked forward, focused on what lay beyond, poised for his mind to accomplish all that he had to.

But he could feel the sweat on his hand, the biting of his lip, and the unsteadiness in his usually sleek posture.

He trembled further as his target placed her hands around his wrist, screaming at him to end it all. Even with a darkened face and heavy makeup, he could spot tears washing down each cheek. 

Right here, right now, he had the power to make everything right again. So why was we hesitating? Any other Palace ruler would make him excited to point a gun in their direction, to lecture them on their misdeeds as his team stole away the treasure and wiped away their evil. 

What made this any different? Who was he in a position of power towards that begged him to deliver the coup de grace?

Her name was Makoto Niijima...

...his lover. 

\------

_One week ago..._

“I’ve never been in a casino before! Look at all these bright lights and money and slot machines!” Panther squealed as she glanced around the Members’ Lobby.

“You think if I win something here, I can bring it back to the real world?” Skull’s gloved hands rubbed together in delight. “I could have top-quality sushi for days!”

“Steady yourselves,” the mysterious Crow addressed them as he viewed the room for himself. “This place is almost certainly rigged against its patrons, if that’s how Sae-san views her courtroom cases.”

“He’s right guys,” Mona bounced around the group. “We can’t give into greed- not when we have a job to do.”

“Thank goodness,” Fox cleared his throat. “Money should be earned, not rewarded. After this is over, I do not wish to enter a casino ever again.”

The Phantom Thieves’ leader, Joker, was quiet. Back in his hometown a place such as this one was pure fantasy, something even the richest neighbours only dreamed of. Now all of it lay before his masked eyes… even though it wasn’t truly real. 

As Skull got into an argument with Fox over the legitimacy of gambling, Joker noticed Noir sharing her own thoughts with Queen and Oracle.

“Father would have hated this place. He always preached the values of hard work towards everyone he knew.”

Oracle frantically tried collecting the numerous dollar bills raining from above, even knowing it was all likely fraudulent. “But if you won, you’d be rich forever!”

Noir’s stunted expression was met with laughter from Queen. “Noir is already rich, Oracle. I don’t think she needs anything more.”

The Okumura girl shrugged. “I don’t need money to be happy, just my flowers and friends.”

Oracle’s head turned towards a large set of doors. “Guys, a safe room! Let’s take a breather.”

“Good idea.” Joker snapped his fingers as he always did. “This way, people.”

\------

“...and I’m telling you, my luck’s better than you might think.” The athlete batted his chest with pride.

“Hah. You are always the one getting held hostage in a fight, Skull. I hardly think you’ll have any better fortune with those slot machines.” Fox remained unmoved by his show.

“Alright Fox, you know what? This Sunday, you and I are going to the arcade in Shibuya. I’ll show you everything I’m capable of.”

The art student chuckled in agreement. “Very well then.”

“Count me in too! My model shoot won’t take long that day.” Panther placed a hand on the table to signify her conclusion.

All three of them offered an invitation to Crow, who respectfully declined out of a desire to focus on his work. As they continued talking, Noir and Oracle exchanged opinions on money with Mona.

Joker, with his back against the wall, watched his teammates. Over the many months they’d grown closer and closer together to become more than just thieves; they were friends as well. Though the presence of Crow brought unease, he only seemed interested in moving their progress forward, and thus seemed to be finding a place of sorts within the team.

And there was even more, for Joker’s gaze moved to look upon that of Queen, their strategist who was also his girlfriend. The Palace they were in right now was her sister Sae’s, and she’d already expressed knowledge of its existence beforehand. Queen had further revealed that one of her desires upon joining the Thieves was to inflict a change of heart within her sister, now feeling selfish over it. Since entering the Palace with the group, she hadn’t said much, even after catching sight of Shadow Sae.

Joker and Queen had been dating for a few months now, so he knew that when she didn’t state her opinion, something was wrong. She stood alone in the safe room, stretching and thinking while occasionally pulling on her outfit.

He came up to her. “Hey, is everything alright?”

“Mmm...” She took a moment to think of a response. “Yes, I think I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? I know you were already aware of this Palace beforehand, but...well ....”

Joker felt her hands interlock with his own. “I promise you, I’ll be okay.” The sound of Queen’s voice always brought him comfort. “It’s my duty to save Sis from herself, meaning there’s no room for me to falter now.”

In response, he pecked a kiss on her cheek, turning them slightly red. “Your commitment to these things is one reason why I love you so much.”

“Aww, you guys are so cute!” Oracle had lowered her laptop screen to admire them. “When are you going to have babies?”

“B-Babies?!” Queen exclaimed embarrassingly. “A-As in, more than one?!”

“Oh?” A wide smirk found its way across Joker’s face. “That’s an interesting reaction.”

He winked as Queen realized how she’d phrased her response to Oracle, patting her cheeks a little more. “Nnngh!”

Crow caught himself smirking at this exchange. “I must say that it’s a surprise to me that you found love before your sister did, Queen.”

“How about you, Crow?” Panther cornered him. “Do you have anyone special in your life?”

“Oh, there are always girls online who want to date me, but I turn them down. Romance is not something I am particularly concerned with. More pressing matters to attend to.” He firmly adjusted his jacket.

“I think you’ll find someone eventually.” Noir chimed in.

Joker found himself knocking on his mask a little at the banter of his teammates, though he recognized that it was healthy for them to be doing this. 

Mona coughed. “We should get back out there. There’s lots of work to be done before we can reach the next level.”

“Right.” Joker clapped his hands and made his way to the door with Queen following behind him. “Let’s move, everyone!”

\------

Returning to the real world after spending time in the Metaverse was always strange. Ren often had to be holding his forehead when making the transition, otherwise he might feel a migraine the next morning. 

The Phantom Thieves always met up in Cafe Leblanc, in the attic where Ren Amamiya had been living since making his probational transfer back in April. All of them began picking up their personal belongings and heading downstairs, saying goodbye to Ren and Morgana. Akechi offered to buy Haru a coffee before she left, which she accepted. Futaba danced down to the main floor to check on Sojiro, wanting to see if he had any leftover curry for her to eat.

As usual, Makoto was the last person remaining. Ren’s attention was on the television, which he’d just switched on to see if the news had anything noteworthy to share tonight. He was glumly disappointed for there to be nothing but the usual talk about the Phantom Thieves and Japan’s splintered political cabinet.

“Tch...why now…?”

Her voice sounded out from the corner of the room; Makoto had been checking her smartphone. Often she would take a quick glance before talking to him, but tonight he could plainly see a scowl across her face; she had received something unpleasant.

“What’s wrong, Makoto?”

“It’s nothing. I just need to get home quickly.” The honours student placed her smartphone inside her Shujin bag and made her way to the staircase. 

That was odd: she always said goodbye to him before departing. In fact he usually walked her to the subway, where they would engage in friendly banter and then kiss before she got on the train. What happened today?

“Makoto? Wait, Makoto!” He had to chase her down through Leblanc for how quickly she walked. The few customers present paid them little mind. Already she was out the front door, without even waving goodbye to Sojiro, and Ren had to make a mad dash just to catch up. He grasped her arm in his hand. 

“Why the sudden rush? What happened?”

Makoto’s tense face gave way to a sigh as Ren released her, letting the girl turn and face him. “Sis got home much earlier than usual today, and she’s unhappy that I’m not already there. It’s a rule that I always need to be back home before her.”

The boy scratched his head as he processed this. Was it his fault for that?

Makoto added more. “She...she hasn’t been in the best of spirits lately. Her boss has put her under serious pressure regarding the Phantom Thieves, and she always rebukes my attempts to sympathize with her.”

Now he felt worse, even though it wasn’t really his business. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Makoto hugged him. “You care; that’s enough for now. I have to get home soon or she’ll be more cross with me later.” The third year student took off for the subway line, leaving Ren standing there in front of Leblanc. He waited until she was out of sight before heading back inside, upon which he noticed Haru and Akechi at the counter.

“What’s wrong with Mako-chan?” The fluffy girl wasted no time in asking about her friend.

“Trouble at home, it would seem.” Ren adjusted his glasses as he grabbed the open seat next to her.

Akechi sipped his coffee. “I hear that Sae-san is in hot water currently.” He didn’t add more to the sentence as Ren and Haru expected him to.

“You kids and your drama.” Sojiro grumbled as he soaked some dishes in soapy water. “If there’s a problem, fix it.”

“Sojirooo!” Futaba’s head popped up from behind the counter. “Makoto’s the student council president at Shujin, ergo she deals with a lot!”

“So did I, when I worked for the government. And I still got by, ergo.” The man didn’t really understand that word his daughter had used, so he threw it in just to try and keep up with the conversation.

“Well I’m afraid I must be going.” Akechi grabbed his case and left without saying more. The rest of the group was rather confused by his actions.

“Ren,” Haru took another sip of the coffee Akechi had purchased for her, “You’re going to break your glasses if you keep playing with them.”

“Huh? Oh, sorry.” The boy had been fiddling with his false lenses in the midst of the loose conversation happening around him. He couldn’t shake how bothered he was by Makoto’s state. 

A hand placed itself on his shoulder as Haru spoke again. “Mako-chan has us now, we’ll get her through whatever’s troubling her.”

“Yeah… you’re right.” Ren nodded.

“You’re so kind to everybody, Haru!” Futaba was now on the counter side after having taken some plates back to Sojiro.

“Oh no, I just always speak my mind.”

“Keep that attitude.” Leblanc’s owner huffed in his burly voice. “I learned the hard way that the more you hold things in, the worse it all gets.”

His surrogate son placed a finger over his chin in thought, wondering how true that statement could ring for someone else…

\------

“Sis! I’m home!” Makoto wasted no time opening the door with her keys and placing her bag down on the countertop. 

“There you are.” Sae glanced at her watch. “What happened, Makoto? You know you’re always supposed to be home before me.”

Now she bit her tongue, hoping this wouldn’t go the way she felt. “I was...studying. And besides, you’re home early. It’s only just past 7:00pm.”

Her sister let out an audible groan. “The director told me to clock out ahead of schedule today, saying I had too much going on to be proficient.”

“Then you should go rest. I can bring you up a hot drink.”

“No, that’s okay. I think I just want a bath tonight.” The older Nijima rose from the couch, and walked over to the staircase entrance before stopping. “Makoto, is school going fine for you?”

“Hm? Yes, of course.”

“You’re keeping on top of your studies?”

“Always. I get the results back for two tests tomorrow.”

Sae remained quiet, and proceeded up the stairs. Makoto let out a sigh of relief and planted herself on the couch. Balancing her time between studies and working with the Phantom Thieves against her own sister had proven difficult, yet she’d been able to manage somehow. 

She placed a hand to her chest for comfort. Tomorrow’s test results would alleviate whatever doubts had entered her mind. Nothing would worsen for her.

The girl heard her phone buzz in her bag. A smile passed over her face as she saw who the message was from.

Ren: _Is everything okay?_

R: _Sorry, I’m just worried._

She pecked out a response.

Makoto: _Yes, I’m fine. Sorry again to have left in a huff._

R: _I understand. See you at school tomorrow._

R: _Never forget that I love you. Sweet dreams._

M: _I love you more. Sleep well._

Makoto couldn’t imagine how her life would be now without Ren and the Thieves. It was hard to imagine a time before she became so heavily ingrained within the team, when the Principal had ordered her to expose them. Now the Principal was dead, likely killed as part of a larger conspiracy. It was unknown if she would have been targeted had the orders been followed through; Makoto made the right choice to put her faith in the Thieves’ justice.

Checking the time again, the honours student decided to study in bed after dinner, and would confidently buy lunch tomorrow with Ren to celebrate her latest test scores. Things would be fine, as long as she remained focused on what lay ahead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this story is the big one that's been in development for quite some time. With the state of the world and lack of interesting happenings in my life, I'll admit I lost steam with this piece. But! I want to release what I've developed so far (over 50 pages worth of material) and see if I can't finish it for you: my audience. I would greatly appreciate feedback and critique for this story as it continues on. Thank you.


	2. Crack

“Hokoshuma! Come and get your test!” Mr. Ushimaru’s harky voice bellowed from across the room.

Makoto watched her peer grab it and then return to his seat, expressing a fist pump as he read his successful scores. 

“Shitaya! Come up!”

Another happy reaction from a peer. Makoto felt herself getting more excited at the prospects of getting her own test back, and continuing to hold her position as the top-scoring student of the whole class.

“Sakurai! It’s your turn!”

Mr. Ushimaru was not one to sort things, and simply pulled tests from the top of the stack they were already in. It was anyone’s guess when their name would be summoned to the front.

“Kozukata!”

Not yet.

“Furukawa!”

_ Not yet. _

“Niijima! You’re up.”

With pride in her step, Makoto rose from her seat and proceeded to the front desk. Mr. Ushimaru often appeared more of a bear than a man, but she was not afraid of him. 

“Come see me after class.”

“Hm?”

“You heard me.” 

He was indeed addressing her with that demand, and not in a friendly tone. Mr. Ushimaru seemed rather cross with Makoto.

_ Does he think I’m cheating? _

She sat back at her desk, and turned over the test paper. Her average score was always no lower than a 90...so her eyes grew wide upon witnessing a big fat 72 encircled on the front page. 

_ 72?! _

That couldn’t be right. Not once since entering Shujin had she scored this low; it had to be someone else’s test. Except it wasn’t, for her name was written on top and each sheet contained her handwriting.

Makoto looked up, lost in thought as the grizzly bear in overalls and a tie at the front continued roaring out names. While everyone else continued to behave as normal, she felt as though the world had already begun to carousel around her. Anxious, she put one hand to her chest and closed her eyes.

_ Okay, okay, breathe. It’s a lower score than my average, but still a passing one. Mr. Ushimaru will likely just offer me some general advice to bring my mark back up. I’m certainly capable of doing so faster than the average student...right? _

\------

“Is this some kind of joke, Ms. Niijima?” The wild ursine slammed his desk with enough force to puncture a hole in the cypress frame.

“I don’t see any humour here, Mr. Ushimaru.” Makoto shook her head, her posture slightly awry.

“Hrmph.” He drove one hand into his drawer and extracted a paper to show his student. “I want you to look at this.”

Makoto examined what he’d handed over. It was the same test she’d written, only the paper was brittle and aged. It was no doubt an older copy...with a perfect score.

She looked at him with visible confusion, to which he suggested she read the name up top.

_ Sae Niijima. _

Now she looked at him again in paralysis.

“Your sister never failed me once, Ms. Niijima. In all my years of teaching in Japan, not once has another student of your sister’s caliber come into my classroom.”

“B-But I always perform well! Surely there's a margin for error!” She protested.

“Excuses, hrmph!” All he did was shake his meaty head in disapproval. “The final exams are coming up, Ms. Niijima; I want you to study hard or not at all.”

She bit her lip and clenched a fist, feeling as though she’d been stung by something unpleasant.

The bear waved one paw. “You’re dismissed for lunch.”

With some anger she threw Sae’s test back on the desk and left the classroom in a huff. 

\------

“Do you think I should have an egg salad today? Or maybe some stir fry?”

The girl made no response.

“I think I’m in the mood for stir fry. You’re having sushi, right?”

_ 72...72...72… _

“Uh, Makoto?” Ren noticed her lack of attention, waving a hand in front of her face.

“Huh?” Her trance disappeared, and it dawned on her that they were holding up the line to get lunch in the cafetorium.

The boy placed a hand on his hip. “You seem out of it. Did something happen with your sister yesterday?”

Hurriedly she shook her head, concerned that he was quick to inquire about what bothered her the most. “Uh...um...no, everything’s fine.”

“Somehow I don’t think that’s the case.” His lips grew tight with apparent suspicion.

“...”

“Makoto…”

“I...I did poorly on a test today!” She blurted out, before clamping her mouth shut with one hand. Some people gave Makoto stares as they passed by.

Ren gave her a small glance, before letting out a breath. She expected him to be cross, only for him to keep a smile up. “Okay. Why don’t you go ahead up to the rooftop and get some fresh air? I’ll bring our lunches up shortly, so we can talk about it.” He turned to place their order.

“O-Okay…” Walking out of the room and making her way up, Makoto tried calming herself. Maybe it was silly to be upset over having a one worse grade that was still a pass.

_ Deep breath in, deep breath out...deep breath in, deep breath out…. _

Up on the rooftop of Shujin Academy, the young girl found herself reminded of when she’d removed Ren’s group from here several months ago under suspicion. And now she was up here, waiting for him to be with her alone.

Did she know, when they first locked eyes, how much she would come to love him?

Makoto hadn’t closed her eyes to take in the mid-day air for more than a few minutes when she heard the doors swing open behind her. Ren appeared, holding their lunches in his hands. Makoto looked at him, the boy who was only here by false accusation. How could he stand so tall and proud, especially at a time like this?

He prepared a blanket for them to sit on, then motioned for her to come sit next to him. Morgana popped out of his bag and moved away to give the couple some privacy. Makoto still felt tense but managed to relax herself a little. It wasn’t the end of the world, just one test. 

Before even unpackaging his food, Ren Amamiya looked his girlfriend in the eyes, and said “Tell me more.”

Quietly, Makoto replied “Well...it was a social studies test…”

“Mmhm.”

“And Mr. Ushimaru had me speak with him afterwards…”

A nod. “What did he say?”

She condensed the details. “Just to try harder.”

Ren tapped his chin with one finger. “What was the score anyway?”

Makoto bit her tongue in hesitation, a needle piercing her heart as she muttered “...87…”

“87?” Now it was his turn to blare out. “But...that’s not a bad score at all!”

“I know…but my average has never been below a 90.” The girl picked at her food, unsure how to feel over having just lied to someone who trusted her. Logic dictated that she lie to make herself feel better, and yet all she could feel was worse about it.

Ren shook his head with a smile. “3 points below your average is hardly something to get depressed about.” He paused for a drink before adding on “I only wish I could consistently score as high as you.”

She looked up at him, knowing how he’d quickly rose to the top of his class since transferral. Part of that success was thanks to her, but he’d accomplished so much on his own before they even spoke a word to each other. Her lips parted to speak, but then met each other again as she failed to find something to say.

“Mako, if you want…” Ren leaned in closer on the table, lowering his voice slightly “...you can sit out of a mission or two if you need to focus on studying more.”

“What?” There was so much conflict in her mind right now. “But...we’re a team! I need to be there, especially for Sis!”

He held his hands up to show that he didn’t want a fight. “It’s just a suggestion. I won’t force you.”

“Mmh…” She closed her eyes and took several breaths, trying to calm her nerves if possible. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Life can’t always go our way.” He spun chopsticks in his fingers, knowing how true that statement was for himself. “But if you want help, I’m always here for you. Because I love you.”

“Yes…” One more breath, and a smile found its way back to her face. “Thank you Ren. I-I love you too.”

He didn’t reply, instead eating with a pensive look across his visage. Makoto followed suit, with them making small talk, and then the girl resting her head on the boy’s shoulder for a while.

As they parted ways to continue the school day, Makoto’s stomach felt anxious at the prospect of having lied to Ren. But then it was only a small one. It wouldn’t gravely hurt his trust in her. Besides, she still had one more test that no doubt would go better, right?

\------

“I must say I’m surprised, Ms. Nijima.” Mr. Inui’s composed voice sounded out. “I didn’t think the fates would allow you to do so poorly on a test.”

Once again Makoto found herself pleading her case. “Mr. Inui, if I may...an 82 is not a bad score.”

The gray-haired man spun in his chair. “For most students, no, it is not. For an honours student, it is at the very least...how should we say...irksome.” Though he wore a loose smile, his tone was rather deadpan.

“...” Makoto only shuffled her feet and said nothing.

“Nevertheless,” he shuffled some papers in his hands, “if you are anything like your sister, you’ll correct this mishap in due time. We all expect much from you.”

“Y-Yes, Mr. Inui.”

His face did not view hers as he ended the conversation. “You are dismissed. Have a nice day.” 

Makoto left without saying anymore. An 82 wasn’t a bad mark, like she said, so why had Mr. Inui also given her trouble over it? It didn’t make sense, but having gotten two tests with grades below her average sent her mixed signals. What would she tell Sae? Already she had fibbed to Ren to try and soften the blow for herself, but lying to her own sister would be even worse.

...Except she’d already been doing that for months, as a Phantom Thief right under the nose of the prosecutor out to seize them in the name of lawful justice. Maybe Ren was right; maybe she  _ should _ sit out a few missions to increase study time again. Her graduation was coming soon, and to have blemishes on her records like this would not suffice for her public image. Everyone had such high expectations of Makoto Niijima; understandable given her academic record, position as student council president, and role as the Phantom Thieves’ strategist...but it all felt like pressure she could easily crack under. 

The girl now stood out in front of the council room, fingers grasping her chin as she evaluated the day’s results and the options to resolve them. How could she save Sae while also needing to bring her grades back up? It was all so troublesome...

_ Bzzz bzzz.  _ That was her phone going off, with Ryuji saying that they should meet up and head to the Palace. The rest of the party, Akechi included, was quick to agree. Makoto’s thumbs moved to tap out a reply, but hesitated as she pondered over what to say.

Then Ren messaged the group chat.

Ren:  _ You guys go ahead and head over to Leblanc. Makoto and I will meet you all there. _

“Makoto and I?” She said aloud without realizing it.

“That’s what I said, yes.” came another voice quickly from behind.

“Aaah!” The girl jumped in place at her boyfriend’s sudden appearance, causing him to laugh. “Sorry…” She fanned herself a bit as he continued smiling, “...I didn’t see you there.”

“It’s all good. I’m sorry for scaring you like that.” He paused as his face crinkled in thought. “Is something wrong again? You’re usually more alert, Mako.”

Makoto waved a hand around. “Me? Yes, I’m fine. Come on, we should be on our way to Leblanc.” She turned and made a beeline for the stairs, only to be stopped by his hand grabbing her own.

“Makoto,” he said, eyes looking straight at her own under his glasses, “did you consider my earlier proposal?”

“I… I did…” She stopped but did not fully turn to face him.

“I know I said we were going together, but that’s just because I didn’t want the others to start worrying. You can study in the cafe or my room while the team is in the Palace, if that would help.”

“Um…” Her head dipped so as to allow the mind to think for a moment. “Can I… decide when we get there?”

“Sure, if that’ll help.” Another smile to keep her assured.

The pair made their way downstairs, with Ren discussing early strategy with Morgana. Makoto was largely silent during the trip over to Leblanc, repeatedly having self-arguments in her head. She’d neglected to tell Ren about the other test, and still had no plan for what to say about them towards Sae. Perhaps it really wouldn’t hurt to sit out at least one mission and focus on schoolwork instead.

\------

“Makoto, what are you doing with your books there?” The detective pointed at her with a gloved hand.

“Eh? Oh, I’m just reviewing some notes.”

Ann had noticed as well. “Are you bringing them into the Metaverse with us? I guess you could study in the Safe Rooms…”

“But we’re on a tight deadline, no?” Yusuke chimed in. “I am not certain any one of us has time to waste while inside Niijima’s Palace.”

“I’ll be okay.” Makoto seemed to stare at the top book in her stack. She exhaled at the frustration of being unsure what to do. 

“Hey.” Ren leaned over to her just as Morgana and Ryuji started arguing over something unimportant again. “I don’t mean to put on pressure, but did you decide?”

The girl winced as she looked around the room. “I think...I’ll still come with. I’ll just stay up late doing more work tonight, I’m used to that after all.”

Ren briefly held a glare of sorts but trusted Makoto’s judgement. “Okay. I can stay up on the phone with you tonight if that’ll help.”

“That...that would be wonderful.” Suddenly she felt confident again, just from hearing that. Ren had long since proved that chivalry was not dead, as he constantly seemed to be paying attention and looking out for her. She loved him even more for that.

“Should we get going?” Haru asked.

“I was just about to give the word.” Their leader clapped his hands in satisfaction, thinking he had solved one problem already and could move back onto the other.

\------

9:06pm. The student council president had eaten dinner by herself as usual, and now was seated at her desk, textbook open with pencil in hand. She let out a yawn but shrugged off fatigue; sneaking through and then re-rigging a game area of her sister’s Palace today had been taxing for the whole group. But Makoto recognized that this was not much different from her life before the Phantom Thieves, when she practiced aikido more frequently. It gave her the same physical exhaustion that was blasted away by a hot bath and warm beverage afterwards. Her body felt refreshed with one sip of her homemade tea.

_ Bzzz bzzz. Bzzz bzzz.  _ A phone call. Normally, her smartphone was on silent during study hours, but tonight she was expecting someone. 

“Hey beautiful. Hope I’m not bothering you,” A flirty boy spoke into her ears.

She loved the sound of his voice as much as he did hers, especially with earbuds in. “Not at all.”

“What are we studying tonight?” She could hear him flipping pages in a textbook, and Morgana’s purring in the background. It seemed he had the TV on as well.

Makoto began writing, now speaking without glancing at her phone any longer. “Social studies and history.”

“My favourites.” 

The pair worked long distance for the next couple of hours, with Makoto occasionally humming to herself. At one point Ren requested that she sing for him, which she initially refused but later promised she would do another night. Other times, he could be heard conversing with Morgana. 

To her satisfaction, Makoto was able to make much progress that night despite being in contact with someone else. True, she and Ren had spent much time studying together in person, but she hadn’t ever had the idea to try it over the phone. Having someone to talk with and be so supportive of her goals was the comforter she needed to rest on during these times.

It was just about the perfect time for the two of them to wrap up now, but Ren was quizzing her on history before they went to sleep. He congratulated her for answering the final question correctly, to which she laughed happily.

Then she felt a hand on her shoulder. Her whole body jolted fiercely in utter surprise; Makoto rarely wore headphones given her lack of taste in music and forgot that having them in could make one unaware of their surroundings.

“Why do you have your headphones in?” asked a very stern-looking Sae.

“Um… I was… studying…” Her sister felt confused over the seeming interrogation. “Did you just get home?”

“A few minutes ago. I was calling out to you without a response, and got worried enough to hurry upstairs like this.”

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry…” Makoto hung her head in self-disappointment. 

“It’s fine. Maybe music really does help some people concentrate.” Sae turned to leave for her own room.

“Uh? But I wasn’t-”

“Wasn’t what?” A sharp turnaround.

“Wasn’t...listening to music…” Makoto pushed back a little in her chair.

Quickly Sae jumped ahead. “You were talking to someone? Who?”

“Um… uh…”

In her ear Makoto heard Ren’s voice again. “Mako? What’s happening? Is your sister there?”

“Makoto! Who is on your line right now?”

“It’s… um… uh…!” Her train of thought quickly gave way to panic.

“It’s her, isn’t it?” Ren’s calmer voice was being drowned out by Sae’s angry one.

“Let me borrow one of those.” Sae held her hand out, prompting Makoto to give one bud over to her before she placed it inside her ear. “Who is this?”

“I-I’m Ren Amamiya.” The boy grew nervous from suddenly being put on the spot after a pleasant evening. He could only imagine his girlfriend’s panicked face right now. “I-I live at Cafe Leblanc right now. We’ve met before, Ms. Niijima.”

“Is that so?” Sae looked interested. “And what is your relationship to my younger sister?”

“W-We’re dating.”

“D...Dating?” The prosecutor’s face briefly lost all composure.

“Y-Yeah, for a couple of months now. Didn’t she tell you?”

The prosecutor glanced coldly at her sister and spoke grimly. “No, she did not.”

Whatever image Makoto had in her head of Ren’s reaction to that revelation was likely accurate.

Sae looked at the window view of Tokyo’s evening lights. “Mr… Amamiya, was it? Go to sleep for the night.”

“... Y-Yes Ms. Niijima…”

Makoto heard Ren disconnect from her earbud as Sae popped hers out with a grimace at her sister. She placed one hand on the desk. “Now listen; I’m very tired and have to wake up early next morning, but I just want you to tell me one thing.”

“What?”

“Your boyfriend…” Sae looked towards the window again, choosing what words to add next, “...Does he make you… happy?”

Her little sister was taken aback. No verbal backlash? No threats to cut things off? “I… yes, he does. I’ve never been happier in my life.”

The prosecutor looked like she wanted to add more, but refrained and straightened herself out, turning once again for the door. “Good.” was all she said before leaving for her own room.

Makoto let out a large, exasperated breath as she slumped in her chair. The supposed thrashing she expected from her sister had gone unseen, but was that because she simply didn’t have the energy for it?

Now she knocked on her forehead with her knuckles. Why had she kept this a secret in the first place? That was another betrayal of Ren’s trust on her part. How dare she!

It was well past 11:00pm now, and though Makoto dearly wanted to call him again, she decided to hold it off and instead crumpled herself into bed. A boiling pot of emotions was stirring rapidly inside her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heavy chapter, I know. I hope this is making sense so far, trying to play on what I understand matters to Makoto the most and how it plays with her perception of herself.


	3. Trust

Both of his ashen eyes glanced around the courtyard. Dark clouds, no matter how much they threatened to unleash their torrential downpour upon Shujin, could not take away from the beauty of the greenery that blossomed here. He recognized that much of it was likely due to the efforts of Haru, who had cheerfully continued her duties in spite of the recent loss of her father.

Next to him was his cat, poking his head out from the napsack with his azure eyes and viewing the scenery for himself.

“When was the last time we were here?”

“Ah…” Ren scratched his head, noticing that his uniform appeared slightly dirty, “...It was probably when Makoto and I were confronting Eiko over her boyfriend issues.” His lips were moving in strange ways, as he kept adjusting his glasses; two nervous tics. The message he’d gotten from his girlfriend this morning was written in a sullen manner, and while Ren had already expected something of the sort after last night’s unexpected turnabout, he lacked knowledge to determine today’s outcome.

Finally he spotted a familiar black halter vest, which signified the presence of Shujin’s student council president. Her walking sped up upon noticing her lover already waiting.

Before he could even greet her, Makoto opened her mouth to start unloading a frantic storm of apologies. In response, Ren held up one hand first to silence her, and then invited the girl to sit next to him. She complied, instinctively lowering her head over his shoulder. As she lay against Ren, he could feel the rigid tensity in her body. No relaxation, just anxiety.

When Makoto felt enough time had passed, she raised herself off of him and spoke up. “I need to apologize to you.”

“Apologize?” was his reply, detecting that this meeting may go south.

“I...I’m sorry for lying to you. I didn’t get an 87 on my social studies test yesterday, it was a 72. A-And I had another one where I got an 82.”

He blinked a few times, cupping one hand over his chin to ponder up a response. 

Makoto jumped the gun to continue. “And I’m so, so sorry I didn’t tell Sis about us. I-I just...between the public’s hatred of us and having to undermine her as we are...” She silenced herself before her thoughts could wander off further.

“Mm…” The boy wished to choose his words carefully here. He wasn’t feeling as distraught as she was, but that only gave him more confusion. Was this really that big of an issue?

“I’m sorry. I vowed to you that we’d be equals when we started things, but now look at me.” She slapped her thighs in self-disapproval. “I’ve been lying to you!”

“Okay.” Finally, he felt he was ready. “Let me dissect these separately. First: your social studies test score was a 72?”

A frantic nod.

“That’s unusually low for you, but then I already suggested you sit out a few missions to catch up on your studies.” He perked up a little. “Did you ever decide about that? I know we still have a lot of ground to cover in your sister’s Palace, but if you’re struggling with school...”

Makoto shook her head. “No, I can handle it. Sis needs my help.”

“Right, your sister.” This one he was admittedly a bit more confused about. “If I may ask: why didn’t you tell her we’ve been dating?”

“I… I don’t know… I guess I never really knew how to announce it…” Her eyes looked at the ground and not him. “She’s rarely home and always tense from work...we haven’t even eaten dinner together since June.”

“Makoto.” Ren unusually leaned in. “Would you consider yourself _close_ to your sister?”

She wore a glum expression. “No… ever since dad died, she and I have been rather estranged…”

His posture found its way back to relaxation. “Then that explains it. As you just said, you didn’t know how to break the news to her. Now she knows, and hopefully once we clear her Palace I can meet her formally.” Ren then paused briefly before adding “Maybe avoid bringing up the subject until then.”

The girl sat in silence. In the movies and books Makoto had experienced, when a person lied to their significant other it would always lead to conflict between the two, due to the breakage in trust. Yet Ren seemed less than that. He’d made his usual quiet analysis, but Makoto had met him here today expecting admonishment from her lover, and yet hadn’t seen that at all. 

Confused to herself, a question exited her mouth prematurely. “Wh-Why aren’t you mad at me?”

“Mad? I don’t see much of a reason to be.” He appeared quite relaxed in contrast to her craned neck and overbearing posture, a reversal of how they usually sat. “This might be rude of me to say, but you and I have known each other for a while now, Makoto. I understand how you think, and so I can’t help believing that what you did was, well, logical in your mind. You have an image to maintain for yourself, and so your actions align towards protecting it. Besides, test scores aren’t the end of the world for you.”

Makoto opened her mouth to respond, but couldn’t find any words before Ren continued.

“You still passed those tests without seeing a sharp drop in your marks, and you’re definitely still on track towards graduating with honours.” Smiling, he closed off that statement with “I know you can fix any academic problem with a little effort.”

“...”

“And when I can properly meet your sister, I’ll be sure to make things straight between all of us.” Ren closed himself there, noting he was speaking far more than normal.

Makoto merely slouched back on the bench. It was difficult for her to process all this, for she still felt guilt in spite of his lack of anger. But was there really any issue at hand now?

“I see you’re still upset with yourself.” She felt one of his hands come over her shoulder. “Let me buy us lunch, because you need to take your mind off this.”

“No, I haven’t earned that.” She nearly shook him off.

“Well, you don’t need to earn what you have already.”

“What do you mean?”

“My love for you; you’ve earned that and then some.” Ren flashed a bright smile towards his girlfriend, who began feeling red in the face. “Now come on,” he took her hand and rose from the bench with the other hoisting his bag up, Morgana yelping as he did so. “We’ll get something good to eat, and then meet up for another Palace infiltration after school.”

Reluctantly, she complied, still feeling uncertain. The food he purchased for them was tasteful, as he used more money than average thanks to his part-time job, but she still didn’t speak much as they ate, only replying when spoken to. They parted ways afterwards, promising to meet up at Leblanc later.

As he walked away, Makoto watched him observantly. This boy she was dating had been falsely accused of assault, arrested for it, tried unjustly, and dumped into a new life under constant threat of great repercussions were he to do something wrong. And yet through fate he was constantly guiding everyone on a path to reformation; both for them and for the world. He risked his life underneath the law day after day, and continued living as best he could even knowing the gavel could come down on him again from any one mistake.

How could one boy be so strong?

Walking to her next class, Makoto thought even further. It was also fate that they’d met like this and grown closer to the point of romance, but a small part of her still wondered if she’d have remained her mundane self had he not been transferred here at all. Certainly, she was happy that Ren had broken her out of her shell, yet couldn’t help pondering over what may occur if their relationship was strained. It was already enough to be dating at a time in which they were prime outlaws wanted for capture. And yet he balanced this aspect of his life with her so well too. How? What was his secret?

Makoto was more conflicted than ever; with herself, with Sae, and with Ren. She sat down for her next class and hoped her brain would switch over to study mode long enough to let herself relax again, or at least until their next meeting.

\------

“Good afternoon. You’re looking rather dark per the weather today, Niijima.” Akechi’s smiling face warmly greeted Makoto outside of Leblanc. She had elected to arrive on her own today as Ren needed to run a few errands with the others.

“Oh, hello Akechi-kun.” Makoto did not make eye contact with Akechi.

“We’re lucky it didn’t rain today, otherwise I fear we wouldn’t have met up as soon as we did.”

“Right…” 

Uncharacteristically, he dropped his grin. “Something is bothering you, it seems. Might I be allowed to pry into the details?”

Makoto’s senses felt alerted, for this was the same boy who had previously called her a pushover several months ago. Now he was their ally, though only temporarily, and still seemed rather impartial to the group as a whole. She hesitated to give a response, instead entering Leblanc and greeting Sojiro. If she were alone, she would have been fine to head upstairs and wait for Ren there, but with Akechi present Makoto instead elected to sit at one of the booths. She declined a coffee from Sojiro, although Akechi took one as he sat across from her.

Akechi pressed the girl again once he had settled into his seat. “Forgive my insistence, but while I am quite used to seeing Sae-san look unhappy, your grimace is newer to me.”

“Oh, what the hell.” Makoto begrudgingly expressed to him, feeling frustrated enough that perhaps a different perspective would bring her light. “I lied to Ren about a couple of things, yet he didn’t really seem upset about it.”

Akechi was quick to respond to this tidbit. “Really? He wasn’t unhappy with that?”

“No,” Makoto shook her head, “He commented that it was logical for me to think the way I did, and that we could sort things out later on, after we’ve conquered my sister’s Palace.”

“Then I’m afraid I don’t see the problem here. You two are in a happy relationship from what I can tell, and yet your face still tells me that you are bothered.”

“Everything is just peaches.” Makoto felt exasperated, dropping her guard to let things pour out. “Not only did I perform worse on two tests and get berated by my teachers, I also lied to my boyfriend and hid our relationship from Sis, who is getting home even later than usual. She seems hellbent on exposing the Thieves by any means necessary now.” Makoto took a deep breath to recollect herself after that info dump.

“You needn’t worry about the law enforcement.” Akechi leaned on the table separating the two. “The progress we’ve made on Sae-san’s Palace has been going smoothly, and the calling card will make the deadline. I guarantee that to you.”

“But Akechi-kun, I knew about my sister’s Palace for months, and never told anyone! If I hadn’t been selfish like that, we wouldn’t be enduring this right now.” She facepalmed herself.

The detective shook his head. “That is your guilt to bear. Would it not be more prudent to see it abolished now, with your friends? From my understanding you originally had intentions of facing it alone.”

“Yes, well, back then I was used to doing everything on my own.”

He tapped a finger against his chin. “Alone… even with your student council at your beck and call?”

Now Makoto shook her head at him. “We hold no real power at the school. I shouldn’t speak ill of the dead, but Principal Kobayakawa just saw me as a wind-up toy to do what he wanted with.”

“And yet,” Akechi readjusted his gloved hand across his chin, “you still accomplished much during that time of your life. With few family members, no friends, and no one to call your lover.”

“...” She wasn’t sure she liked where this was going. 

“Oddly, it seems facts are present to discern that you and I may not be as different as once perceived.”

She swung an arm in dismissal. “What? Y-You and I are nothing alike!”

“Oh but I disagree.” The young man was astonishingly comfortable in his booth seat now. “We both lost our parents at young ages, and we both worked tirelessly to make ourselves the best and thus please the adults around us. Now we sit on top of the academic food chain, fighting to maintain our positions above those who would usurp us.”

When she said nothing in return except a gasp, he continued. “Yes, I was orphaned at a young age. I have little recollection of my parents, yet I still felt motivated to improve myself whenever possible. And it is apparent that you’ve done the same as well.”

“Ngh…” She wanted to punch him right now, but all that would really do was prove he was right. And besides, that wasn’t like her to want to resort to violence so quickly. Instead she decided to play along more. “My father was a police officer who died in the line of duty. He once told me that the most important part of your life was how you choose to live it.”

Slightly grinning, Akechi replied “Well, what would you say to that then? Has your lifetime been used satisfactorily thus far?”

“I...I think so...I joined the Thieves, and Ren confessed his love to me…”

“So on a social aspect, you’d say yes. But what about elsewhere?”

She perked up with nervosity. “E-Elsewhere?”

Akechi looked away with a strange lack of faith. “Your sister is quite the renowned person around here. She’s made great academic strides and works with a successful prosecution team that has gone undefeated for over forty years.” He pointed a finger at her accusingly. “What have you done?!”

Makoto felt cornered, but had to defend herself. “I-I’m the student council president!”

“You previously admitted that position is powerless.”

“I-I-I’m an honours student.”

“Have you received college acceptances yet? Those recent test grades may put a damper on your future.”

Now she was getting angry at the detective and his calm yet aggressive demeanour. “Akechi-kun, what are you telling me here?”

He coldly stared his opposite in the eyes. “That you’re still living in your sister’s shadow, unable to crawl out of it. I would almost say I pity you.”

How badly she wished to drive his face through the floor and make him retract that statement. But before she could trounce him, Makoto noticed Ren and the others enter Leblanc. Sojiro was servicing another booth and had missed the altercation behind him.

“Ah, there you all are.” Akechi waved to them casually, completely disregarding his dialogue with Makoto.

“Sorry we’re late!” Ryuji laughed. “Ann and Yusuke were having an argument.”

“About what?”

Ren sighed with a headshake. “It was just something about art supplies.”

“It’s all resolved now.” Ann stated assuringly, though Yusuke’s expression implied otherwise. Haru and Futaba were looking at Makoto’s tense face.

Their leader also noticed the uncomfortability of his girlfriend. Leaning in slightly, he whispered “Hey, are you alright?”

Without making eye contact, she replied with “I’m fine. Let’s just go.”

“Are you su-”

**“I’m. Fine.”**

Haru wanted to add something but Ren held up a hand to quiet her; whatever it was would have to wait. The group made their way upstairs, and then prepared to enter the Metaverse. 

Ren and Haru both made attempts to ask Makoto why she was cross, and both of them were brushed off.

\------

The girl found herself slumped against the door, sharply letting out a heavy breath. It had been a long, conflicted day for her. Akechi’s words still ran through her head, in conjunction with her lowered grades and Sae’s reaction towards her boyfriend. Never mind the Palace trek leaving her body drained of energy; even dinner had not been enough to leave her in the right mind for studying.

What was happening? Just a few weeks ago she’d been so happy, more alive than the past few years after her father’s passing. For all the hardships she had endured, meeting Ren and falling for him was a fated blessing for the girl. Through him and the Phantom Thieves Makoto had begun breaking free of the shackles in her life to experience friendship again, something she thought she had forever lost because of her honour student career.

But tonight, her head was all mixed up. She didn’t know what to say, who to turn to, or what she was even truly upset about. In her heart, she almost felt selfish, as if she _wanted_ people to take pity on her for her errors in life.

And she hated herself for feeling that.

Makoto found herself reminded of last spring, when the Kamoshida scandal had been exposed by the Phantom Thieves. She remembered how her position came under fire for failing to do anything about Kamoshida’s abuse, how Ryuji and Ann had spat in her face over her inaction, how the Principal brushed it all under the rug and told her to comply with his demands. During that time, she had felt almost powerless, completely at the mercy of the social system. Even outside of school, the girl had been insulted to her face by Akechi and even Sae. All of her work had been called into question, yet she found a way to turn it all around and unlock her Persona.

Now she found herself wishing for that miracle of righteous power again. And she thought she’d found it when Johanna had transformed into Anat. But this wasn’t really a problem related to her combat abilities.

_Knock knock._ “Makoto, are you in there?”

It was her sister. Makoto had lost track of time and was unprepared for Sae’s return. Quickly, she rose up from the floor and brushed herself off to look presentable before sitting on her bed. “I’m here, come in.” She grew worried over what would likely be asked of her.

Sae slowly opened her door to the sight of her sister looking glum. “You look unwell tonight.”

“I’m fine.” How many times could she say that? She’d known for a while now about how untrue it was.

The prosecutor didn’t believe this, but chose to continue anyway. “I was just wondering about your test scores that you mentioned the other day. Did you pass?”

“Of course I did.” Makoto had not made eye contact with her sister.

“...” Sae was getting a different vibe from Makoto than usual. Awkwardly she sat down next to her on the bed, trying to feel closer towards the younger girl. “Is something wrong, Makoto?”

Her sister only sighed.

The older Niijima’s face tensed a little. “Are you not telling me something?”

Makoto bit her tongue.

“I’m sensing that you’re withholding information from me.”

“Nnnngh…”

Sae looked away. “Well, I guess you can share with me when you’re ready.” Her arms were poised to lift herself off the bed.

“I…” Makoto couldn’t hold it in. “I did worse on my tests!”

Sae stopped herself from leaving. “What?”

“I-I still passed, but I scored worse! I got a 72 in social studies and an 82 in history!” She blurted all of it out at once.

Her sister was quiet, momentarily thinking of how to reply to this.

Makoto felt a tear welling in her eye. “I got berated for them too. They showed me your tests and told me that you never failed them as I did now.”

Her sister took a deep inhale and exhale. “Have you stopped studying?”

“N-No! I do so every day!”

“Then there must be something else interfering…” Sae’s eyes grew wide with realization, something that frightened Makoto as she knew where her sister’s suspicions had led. “You told me yesterday you have a boyfriend now.”

“Y...Yes, I do…”

“And you also told me he makes you ‘happy’. Certainly vague.”

A nod, with no reminder that it was Sae who had poised that question herself.

“This ‘happiness’ that he supposedly gives you...I think it may be more of a distraction right now.”

Makoto winced. Ren was never a distraction to her; if anything, he supported her as much as possible. “It’s not because of him.”

“Then what is it?” Her sister’s arms had folded, her tell when she was certain of something.

Makoto couldn’t answer this truthfully, for the real answer was the Phantom Thieves. All she could do was remain quiet. Did she want to fight?

“I knew it.” Sae shook her head. “Romance is a waste of time, especially for someone of your age.”

“It’s not because of him!” Now she wouldn’t allow Ren to be insulted like this.

“Makoto, he is taking away from your study time. You should end things with that boy and focus on what matters.”

“It’s not his fault!”

“Listen to me.” Sae’s stance had stiffened now that she’d stood up again. “Your generation seems to have an unhealthy obsession with early romances, yet they always lead to nothing but more strain on your life. Teen pregnancy, domestic abuse…”

Makoto was hurt that Sae seemed to lack faith in her judgement. “None of that is happening with us. He loves me and wants us both to succeed.”

“Break up with him. Love is a waste of your time, Makoto.” Sae motioned to exit the room, thinking she had made her point and thus won the argument.

What the prosecutor did not expect was hearing the younger girl yell at her. “If romance is such a waste of time, then maybe Mom and Dad shouldn’t have married!”

Sae turned around and pointed a finger at Makoto. “ _Don’t_ bring them into this.”

Makoto was overcome by energy that clouded her rational thought. “Maybe if you weren’t always working so late every night, you could learn to enjoy life a little more! As I have!”

“I provide for the both of us! You need to do the same eventually.” Sae put her foot down.

“I don’t want to be like you.” Makoto turned so her backside was all Sae could see of her. “I’m not like you. I’m not…”

Sae was insulted, but too tired to carry the conversation any further. “When you’re older, Makoto, you’ll learn why things are this way!” She slammed the door and disappeared into her own abode.

Breaking down, Makoto fell onto her bed, burying her face in the Buchi pillow and crying into it. What had she done?

_Bzzz bzzz. Bzzz bzzz. Bzzz bzzz._ Her smartphone vibrated from new messages. Makoto only grabbed the device so she could toss it onto the floor, before switching off her lamp and letting sleep overcome her body. She hadn’t even changed out of her school uniform.

As she slept, the ignored texts continued to pile up in her inbox:

From Haru: _Mako-chan, would you like to talk? Akechi-kun told me you were feeling unwell today._

From Akechi: _Your sister and I spoke today, she may be curious when she gets home. My best wishes for you tonight, I think I stepped out of line today against you._

From Ren: _Hope everything is okay, Mako, you seemed down today. Call me if you can, and sleep well if not. I love you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting heavy, I know. This is my first attempt at a major slow burn, hope I'm doing it right.


	4. Volition

Birds chirped with heart outside on the streets of Tokyo. Ren Amamiya sat up on his bed, clothes changed and ready for another day in the life of a transfer student. He had grown so accustomed to this probation that he worried about how it might be difficult for him to resettle when he returned home in a few months.

Morgana was stretching on the floor when the both of them heard Ren’s phone go off. “Who’s calling you already?”

“It’s..” he held it up to answer “...Haru”. A tap of the call button. “Good morning Haru.”

As always, Haru was polite but direct with her words. “Good morning Ren-kun. I hope you slept well.” 

That cued him to yawn unintentionally. “Yeah, I think I got a decent rest. And you?”

“Well enough.” She paused before getting to the point. “Ren-kun, I was wondering if you could help me with something… no, some _ one  _ that I’m worried about.”

He felt a nerve in his phone-holding hand twinge. “Who is it?”

There was hesitation before Haru answered him. “Mako-chan. She seems to be unhappy lately, and the more I see her like that the more concerned I become. I tried to call her last night but failed to get an answer.”

“Hm,” Ren stood up off his bed and paced around the attic, “I did the same. Perhaps she was studying? I suggested she do so after she scored worse on two tests.”

“She did?” Haru gasped over the phone. “Oh my, she didn’t tell me about any of that.”

Ren bit his lip. Maybe Makoto had withheld that information from Haru for a reason, as the Okumura girl was a high-achiever as well. But weren’t they good friends? 

Haru continued on. “Hm, well, in any case I asked the others about her well-being last night when she didn’t answer me herself. Notably, Akechi-kun said that she conferred with him about troubles with school, her sister, and...you.”

“Me...?” That felt foreboding. Had Ren wronged her somehow? He stiffened out his back a little, and then looked to his plant as if it had the ability to give advice. “Hm. Haru, do you want to talk about this more at school today?”

“Yes, please.” She paused momentarily to think. “Is it possible the three of us as well as Mona-chan could meet during lunch period today?”

Ren’s mouth twisted into a smile with some confidence. “I think that would be good for her. Why don’t you call Makoto now and tell her to meet us then?”

“Actually, I phoned her before you with no answer, but I’ll try again. Thank you, Ren-kun.” Haru hung up on the boy, who now was examining his shelf and the gifts on it. Silently, he contemplated what had been shared with him. 

“What did she want?” Morgana inquired.

“Haru’s worried about Makoto, said she’s had trouble getting a hold of her. So she suggested we all meet at lunch today and break things down.” Seeing what time it was, Ren grabbed his backpack and held it open for the cat to jump inside.

The boy walked downstairs and took his leave to school as Morgana offered his own opinion. “I’m not sure you’re taking Makoto’s issues seriously enough, Ren.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just think more about how she feels. You both lead different lives, and she’s graduating while we work against her sister. There’s no doubt she has a lot of stress in her head at the moment.”

Ren thought to himself after hearing Morgana’s words. His cat could be stubborn but made sense: just because he was fine with things didn’t necessarily mean that she was too. Makoto was a major part of his life now, and thus it was his responsibility to help her when she needed it.

“You have a point. When we meet her and Haru today, I’ll ask her to open up to us more.” He felt relaxed knowing Haru would be there. “The two of them seem to be close, so let’s hope that comforts Makoto more.”

Morgana spoke ominously. “Yes, let’s hope.”

\------

The brunette girl gazed over the horizon. Tokyo contained immeasurable amounts of buildings, cars, and people as far as the eye could see. Clouds still nestled in the skyline, clotting out any sunlight that tried to get through, and the forecasts were once again expecting rainfall.

Standing up here, overlooking the bustling streets below, she felt as though she were the embodiment of her codename: Queen. Her halter vest moved with her breathing, though she kept adjusting it out of uncomfortability. The girl’s lips repeatedly tried to adjust themselves into a facsimile of a smile, though every attempt failed. Each finger nicked at the other behind her back, and one thigh was shaking irritably. 

Every few moments the wind would blow against her body as if telling her to move aside, brushing her finely cut bangs and standardized skirt to the left. She could feel her right eye twitching now too, along with general unrest within her stomach.

Her memory pulled back to April again, when Shiho Suzui had attempted to rob her own anguished life by jumping from a great height and only surviving by sheer luck. Later she’d overheard teachers talking about a Takamaki girl breaking down in anguish after witnessing her friend’s desperate suicide attempt. 

Both brows furrowed as her eyes scrunched themselves shut and chained down her thoughts. How selfish was she to consider bounding off of this scape? She had so much to live for, now more than ever, and it was a ridiculous time to have the thought of self-harm run through her head.

The girl, confused in her mind, just wanted to scream a little.

“There’s our Queen!” The rooftop door flung open as a young boy and cheerful girl made their entrance.

“Hello Mako-chan! Are you having a good day?”

These were the kind of people who never wanted to learn that she was gone. Shaking her head a little, Makoto made her way over to the tables to join them. “My day has been… alright. How about yours?”

“Oh, just fine.” Haru plopped down her lunch as Ren did the same, who then unexpectedly handed Makoto a bagged pastry.

“Here.”

“W-What? What’s in here?” The paper bag was light.

“I ran by the cafeteria earlier and got you a cookie. Sorry that it’s not fresh.” He scratched the back of his raven hair with some self-disappointment.

Makoto wasn’t sure why she felt so surprised by this, but it allowed her face to form a real smile for the first time in a few days. “That’s alright. Thank you, Ren.”

“You’re welcome.” His nose turned upwards towards the grey clouds proudly patrolling the sky. “I hope it doesn’t rain while we’re up here.”

“The forecast said there’s only a 40% chance of rain today,” Haru noted inbetween full bites, “so I think we’ll be safe.”

Ren nodded and got comfortable on his chair. With no sun and the air feeling cooler today, Morgana remained inside his school bag, listening to the conversation.

“Mako, how are things with your sister? You didn’t answer my text yesterday...is everything alright?”

Makoto’s smile vanished again as she recalled the previous night's events and how she had cried herself to sleep. Her back slouched against the chair as she thought up what to say.

Before she could reply, Haru interjected. “We both tried to call you last night, but got no answer. Were you studying, Mako-chan?”

“I…” The council president felt a pain in her bosom, already getting pressured like this “...I had a fight with Sis last evening.”

At that, Ren instantly put down his food and swallowed whatever was in his mouth. “What happened?”

Sharply Makoto exhaled as she searched for the words to express herself without getting emotional. “Sis learned about my low test scores and was unhappy with my lack of studying.” Visibly her face winced as she struggled to mention the worst part.

“Oh no…” Haru sensed the frustration from Makoto’s body language. She too stopped eating so as to indulge herself further in the conversation.

Likewise, Ren was slowly getting worried at Makoto’s movements; her stiff shoulders and rigid back told him that things had gotten worse for her. Morgana was right about him not taking the situation seriously enough, and so he reached a hand to grasp her own. “Makoto, if you hold something in it will only get worse.”

“I… she… she said...” Tears welled up within her eyes in response to what she did next.

Her boyfriend disturbingly felt the sensation of her hand slipping away from his.

“S-She said you and I have to break up…” One tear rolled down her cheek.

“... What?” was all he could muster. His face instantly drained of all life.

“I-I’m… I’m sorry…” Makoto wanted to shrivel into a ball and roll away.

“Mako-chan, no!” Haru gasped, as Morgana popped his head out to see what was happening. “You always talk about how happy Ren-kun makes you. Your sister doesn’t understand that!”

“I’m sorry!” Suddenly her voice burst in volume and she stood up. “T-Things in my life have been terrible lately! I-I-I need to look after myself! Besides, I can’t go against my sis more than we have already!”

Ren, grimly looking at her, rose from the table. “No, Makoto… I’m the one who needs to apologize.”

“...Huh?” She took a step back.

The boy bit his lip as he looked to the horizon. “I didn’t take your issues seriously enough. I haven’t been the study partner that I vowed I would be for you.” He stepped forward to repair the distance between them. “Let… Let me meet your sister and settle things between us. I don’t want her to hate you because of me, it’s not fair.” His hand was held out to her.

Haru and Morgana watched with bated breath as Makoto held her hands to her chest, still teary-eyed while looking at Ren’s splayed out one. He’d admitted to his own mistakes and wanted to fix it for her. She didn’t have to detach herself from him like this.

“I…”

“Please. I -and the Phantom Thieves- will always be here for you.” He was smiling solemnly.

Makoto hesitantly placed one hand on his own…

...and then the other to gently push it back. 

What light remained on his face drained quickly as Haru gasped. He looked at his lover in the eyes, terrified of her implications. She returned his glance, having to look up with her shorter height. For several moments, neither said anything, instead only watching as the other withheld their tears for their opposite.

Then, Makoto spoke. “I’m sorry, but this is my problem. I have to settle it myself.” Makoto shook her head in sorrow and turned away from her friends, before walking to the staircase. Without looking back, she said “I’ll be back soon. I promise.” And she disappeared down the stairs.

Ren was in disbelieving shock as he watched the doors close. Haru called for him to sit back down.

“Ren-kun… it’s not your fault…” She said, not feeling entirely confident in her own words.

“No, Morgana was right.” The boy cradled his face in his hands, fighting to stop himself from crying in the middle of the day like this. “If I had consoled Makoto more on her problems, she wouldn’t be feeling worse today...”

“But she said she’d be back!” Haru tried to brighten the situation. “Oh, but… back from where?”

“I can only assume she’s gone to the Metaverse right now.” Morgana chimed in, having witnessed that exchange go differently than he expected it to. 

Ren’s eyes widened. “I think I know what she plans to do.”

“What? What is it?” Haru grew more worried with that statement.

“Remember what she said when we first learned about Niijima’s Palace?”

Haru and Morgana thought to themselves, before remembering as Haru bursted out “No…!”

“Yes.” Morgana was serious. “She’s going to try and change her sister’s heart as she wanted to originally.”

“We have to help her!” The Okumura girl uncharacteristically slammed one fist on the table. “Mako-chan could get killed!”

“I agree.” Ren’s face looked concentrated now, though an eye twitch betrayed his concern. “But I don’t want this to be a bigger problem than it is already.”

“So what should we do?”

“Don’t tell any of the others. If Makoto’s gone to the Metaverse, then the three of us can get her back now.”

“One problem with that.” Morgana interjected.

“What?”

“Your lunch period is finite, and I doubt either of you want to miss your classes.” His tail flicked around.

Ren winced. Skipping school halfway through the day would not look good on him or Haru.

“Ren-kun, after your last class let’s come back here. We’ll enter the Metaverse and save Mako-chan before the day is done.”

He was reluctant but agreed. “I just hope she’ll be okay…”

“Mako-chan is a smart girl. I trust her.” His friend began putting away her lunch. “In fact, I think she’ll pull out and come back to us before long.”

“I hope you’re right.” Morgana jumped into his owner’s bag as they cleaned up and left the rooftop with Haru. Ren wanted to prowl the hallways and call for students to answer where they saw the student council president heading. School felt unimportant to him now; his mistake was growing out of control and becoming more of a problem.

\------

_ DING DING DING DING! _

He bolted for the door as soon as he could. No time to waste; he had to get back to the roof and into the Metaverse as soon as possible. Makoto needed him, and he only hoped it was not too late.

“Yo, Ren!”

He halted at the sound of his name being called out, as Ryuji pranced up to him. “Wassup, man? Where are you off to in such a hurry?”

“Me?” Ren recalled that he didn’t want any more members of their group to learn what was happening with Makoto yet, so as not to distract them from their current objective. “I was...heading to the library to study with Makoto.”

“Eh? Isn’t the library that way?” Ryuji pointed opposite of the direction his friend was headed.

“Uhhh...I have to use the bathroom first.”

Ryuji looked confused before shrugging. “Alright, I’ll see you around then.”

Ren turned to leave but was stopped again. 

“Hey, aren’t we going to the Palace today?”

“Uhhhh…”

Morgana poked his furred head out of the backpack to help his owner out. “Aren’t your exams coming up, Ryuji? You should go study too.”

Ryuji scrunched his mouth at the cat. “Isn’t the Palace more important for us right now? Makoto was talking so much about wanting to save her sister from herself.”

“One day to rest won’t hurt us. We still have time to spare.” The athlete found his friend resting one hand on his shoulder for reassurance. “If you don’t want to do work, go out with Ann perhaps?”

After contemplating it for a moment, Ryuji finally agreed and took off. “Fine, I’ll see what she’s up to.” Ren waited for his friend to be completely out of sight before continuing on his way towards the rooftop.

When he finally made it, Haru was already waiting. “There you are!”

“Sorry, I ran into Ryuji and had to throw off his suspicions.” Ren dumped Morgana out and readied his phone. “All set to go?”

“Yes!” Haru spoke enthusiastically. “If we’re lucky Mako-chan should be waiting for us to come find her.”

Despite the tension, the boy was glad to see that his relatively new friend had not lost her positivity. “I like that attitude, Haru.”

“If I gave in to despair, I’d be no better than a Shadow!” She proclaimed boldly.

“Just be on your guard.” Morgana cautioned his allies. “A couple of hours have passed since Makoto went into the metaverse, so we have no idea what could have happened. She may have been captured for all we know.”

“No time to waste then.” Ren wore a hardened expression as they entered the otherworld. As he felt his clothes change and a mask materialize across his face, he transformed into a different person. Here, he had power, an unbelievable power to enact justice and vanquish evil. He had done this countless times since April… but something in his spine chilled as if to say that this time would be different.

His hands came around two weapons: a gun and a knife, each a powerful tool for ending a being’s life by force. In the back of his mind he felt his Persona stock stir up, most eager for action. 

These were the kinds of destructive forces entrusted to him by fate. Ren could use them wisely, or he could utilize them for ill purposes. With such a heart and a hefty goal ahead of him, he prayed there would never be a situation in which he was forced to choose life or death for another.

\------

Powerful neon lights and blaring music were one way to describe the eyesore that was Niijima’s Palace. For such a decorated prosecutor leading a successful career, it was hard for anyone to imagine that this represented her inner self; always cheating and manipulating the truth to secure victory.

The Phantom Thieves had defeated most of the Palace, and were ready to advance to the High Limit Lobby, which contained two distinct areas: the House of Darkness, and the Battle Arena. As a team, they would be able to conquer these with little trouble and reach the top floor where the Treasure awaited them. It was all supposed to go according to plan.

“Something’s different.” Mona mused as they reached the Palace’s entrance.

“What is?” Joker slipped his phone away as Noir did the same.

“The Palace, it feels...altered. If Makoto did come here like we suspect, she made some progress.”

“But how much?” Noir asked as they headed for the main floor.

“I can’t be too sure yet, but I’m  _ certain  _ that this place has changed.”

Under his mask, Joker felt one eye twitch. He didn’t like the sound of news that there was a change in the Palace, for that could mean anything. Without Oracle to scan ahead they’d need to eyeball it.

The first thing they noticed upon full arrival was a large crowd of cognitive people gathered around something new. 

“What are those people crowded around?” Noir moved in to get a closer examination.

Joker attentively listened to murmurs of the false humans as he followed behind her.

_ “How wonderful! This casino was always such a bore; it’ll be nice to see something different for a change.” _

_ “I coacere. Ms. Niijima’s execution will be a sight to behold, and then I’ll be first in line to sign up afterwards.” _

_ Execution?  _ He felt a line of sweat across his tousled ash hair.  _ Oh no… _

“It’s no use.” Noir grumbled once they regrouped away from the crowd. “There were too many people for me to get in close enough.”

“About that…” Joker motioned for them to move into a corner, “...I was listening to various conversations while walking around.”

“What did you hear?”

He bit his lip. “Specifically the words ‘Ms. Niijima’s execution’.”

Noir gasped. “No…!”

“I was right then.” Mona was displeased. “Queen went and got herself captured by the Shadows patrolling here.”

“But why would her own sister announce a public execution? This is a casino!” Noir flailed her arms around in troubled confusion.

“That I’m unsure of. Maybe she was caught sabotaging one of the game machines?”

“Too extreme for something like that.” Joker shook his head and thought to himself. “What if she tried to go through the High Limit area by herself?”

Mona pondered over this as Noir commented “Queen isn’t stupid! On her own that would have been too dangerous!”

“Yes, but remember that she’d been doing things on her own long before she met us. Even with her nyctophobia, she may have charged into the House of Darkness headfirst.”

Noir hobbled on the spot, unable to contain her anxiety. “We have to find her. Now.”

Joker began walking. “Let’s head up to the High Limit Floor and see if we can find any clues.”

The trio used the elevator to reach the upper floor, which had two different game areas and a third area that led to the Treasure’s resting place. Joker approached the Shadow running the help desk and splayed one hand across the counter.

“Answer a question for me.”

“Are you looking for that teammate of yours?” The Shadow was quick to answer.

Noir was surprised. “How did you know?”

The Shadow pointed to the House of Darkness. “She came up the elevator and made a beeline for our maze over there. I must say I was wondering where the rest of you delinquents were.”

“That confirms it then.” Mona stated. “Queen was here.”

“I took the liberty of informing Ms. Niijima herself.” The Shadow added without being prompted to. “I imagine that intruder has been dealt with by now if she was harassing our staff.”

“We’ll see about that.” Joker turned to leave with his group, but the Shadow called out to them once more.

“Pardon, but I forgot to mention that we have an announcement today.”   
  


“An announcement?” Mona replied.

“The details are secret, but set to be revealed in half an hour. Everyone is free to attend, even you.”

Joker nodded as the party regrouped away from the Shadow before he could speak further. “Half an hour until Makoto gets executed by her own sister. This isn’t good.”

Noir folded her arms. “That should be enough time for us to check the House of Darkness before we head back downstairs.”

The small group investigated the maze, finding it almost fully completed. A lighter patrol seemed to indicate that Makoto had taken out a few Shadows while traversing through, yet the maze’s last few doors had not been opened, indicating she’d turned around somewhere. Joker recalled when she’d clung to him in the dark at Futaba’s house, how frightened she’d been even in a situation that wasn’t dangerous. The way she’d instinctively latched onto him, and how he had provided her comfort in her fear...he found himself bothered to imagine her in the darkness again, and without backup against prowling Shadows. Still, he also recognized that credit was due for her being able to partially brave her nyctophobia.

Once they’d returned to the lobby, the team reviewed what they learned. 

“So she started going through the maze, but turned back before she could finish it. That must mean Queen was caught in there.” Mona thought aloud. “There’s about five minutes until this ‘announcement’; what should we do Joker?”

After a moment’s contemplation, Joker replied “We should head back downstairs and find out where that’s taking place.”

“I still don’t get it.” Noir mumbled as they entered the elevator. “Why would Niijima order the death of her own sister?”

“I’m not sure myself.” Mona scratched his furry chin. “Maybe we should prepare a plan in case we need to rescue her.”

Joker did not reply, instead thinking in his head what could be done. They’d need to scope out the situation first before making any moves that could put them all at risk.

Upon reaching the bottom floor, Noir pointed out a gathering heading down to the entrance, where the Thieves always entered to infiltrate. Hurriedly they made their way down to the mass of cognitive people, noticing there was a massive stage set up now.

“Huh? Where did that come from?!” Mona exclaimed after they’d taken cover.

“I’m not sure, but look: Niijima’s up there.” Joker pointed to a scantily-dressed figure on top of the stage, surrounded by Shadow guards. Behind her was a very large curtain obstructing something from view.

Noir bit one of her gloved fingers with worry. “Where’s Mako-chan?”

“Let’s see what happens first before we make any sudden moves.” Joker could feel sweat starting to trickle down his face. “If Makoto’s up there, we’ll save her.”

The three thieves all collectively wished the rest of the team was with them, but for now all they could do was watch and wait.

“Welcome!” Sae’s Shadow form proudly spoke into the microphone onstage, addressing the mass false crowd around her. “I’m so glad all of you could make it to today’s unveiling, I wouldn’t want any of you to miss it for the world.” She pranced across the platform, showing off her features as they cheered for the Niijima gamemaster. “Let the execution begin!”

On cue, the Shadows began pulling away the massive curtain behind the silver-haired woman. All the Phantom Thieves present braced themselves for the worst, with Joker squinting his eyes while Noir threw one arm before her face.

To their astonishment, the dramatic reveal was nothing more than a large advertising sign, showing the opening of a new area. 

“I’m pleased to announce the execution of our old location in favour of a new attraction! It opens later tonight for your gaming pleasure! Go head-to-head with your opponent and see who comes out on top. If you’re willing to risk it, you can win even bigger than before!”

“Huh?” Mona questioned as the crowd cheered and Sae began fielding questions. “That wasn’t what we thought it was.” 

“A new location? Will this make things harder for us?” Noir turned to Joker, who was processing the development still.

“I’m not sure.” There was a growing suspicion in the back of his mind, but he kept it to himself for now. “But I think I know why this happened.”

“What do you mean?” Noir stroked her chin with one hand.

“Think about it.” Joker made hand gestures to illustrate his deductions. “Makoto told us she had a fight with her sister yesterday. And what did Shadow Niijima just say they were adding to her casino?”

“Oh!” Noir’s hat nearly popped off of her head. “A one-on-one game!”

“Exactly. It’s a direct cognitive response to what her real self experienced recently.”

Mona nodded in approval. “Good evaluation, Joker.” His pupil had come a long way in his metaverse exploits and understanding of them. 

Joker wasn’t happy to have made that connection. Actually, he was more worried than before, but hid it as best he could manage. “Let’s head back for today, and return on the weekend with the full team. We’ll decide then how to continue our infiltration.”

“But what about Mako-chan?”

Ren held up a hand to put Noir at ease. “Makoto wasn’t captured to be publicly executed like we thought, so she probably escaped the Palace on her own before we arrived.” He pulled out his smartphone, watching as Noir followed suit. “Go home, relax, and we’ll try calling her later.”

“O-Okay.” Noir complied, with Mona being silent in curiosity as the trio returned to the real world.

\-----

“Hi, you’ve reached Makoto Niijima. I’m unable to answer my cellphone right now, so please leave a message following the tone.”

_ I’ve left six messages now.  _ His mind grumbled to itself.  _ Why won’t you pick up? _

Ren collapsed backwards onto his bed. It was close to bedtime now; Leblanc had locked doors for the night and the moon shone brightly through his window, illuminating his quiet attic space.

Turning to one side with discomfort, the boy caught sight of his cat glaring at him. “What?”

“Do you think there’s a greater reason why Makoto isn’t responding to your calls?” His tail whisked around his small body.

“She must be studying. Those test grades shook her harder than I thought.”

“Say that again.” Morgana bounded onto the mattress.

“What?”

“ _ ‘Those test grades shook her harder than I thought.’  _ Perhaps she needs some space right now to refocus herself.”

Ren looked to the moon outside, cycling through responses in his head but ultimately coming up with nothing. 

“We’re lucky she didn’t wind up caught by her own sister today.”

“...” Ren felt his eye twitch yet again. He had a suspicion in his head that scared him, and was only growing stronger, but he could wait till tomorrow to investigate it further...couldn’t he?

Morgana’s front paws stretched forward as the cat let out a yawn. “In any case, we’ll see her at school tomorrow. We should get to sleep for now.”

“Yeah...good night.” Ren quietly flicked off the light as Morgana’s lithe form found itself curled up around the edge of his bedside. He happily shut his eyes and began to sleep peacefully.

But his owner could not. Another two hours would pass without him being able to properly find rest; he tossed and turned, sat up and then back down, scratched himself, tried thinking of his schedule...nothing worked. The back of his mind contained a growing fear that he could not stop pondering over, as it made him more anxious every moment.

That was it: he couldn’t wait till morning. He had to check right now. Carefully slipping out of bed and sneaking across the floor to the basement without Morgana waking up, he pulled out his phone and opened the Nav.

  
Something was wrong with Makoto, and he needed to know.  _ Now. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter...ah there were so many ways I feel I could have done it. I hope the approach I chose worked out in the end. A reader pointed out a mistake I made in the last one (thank you), and so I hope to try and maintain quality as we go on. Feedback is always appreciated.


	5. Worry

Mementos. The dark, hallowed, and empty bowels of this place made his stomach churn. And without any backup, there wasn’t a soul to banter with about the mystery of this dungeon. Nor did he have a means of fast transport, as Morgana always drove the team around in van form.

But Ren was almost an expert at swift stealth now, and so he could quickly make his way through the bowels, searching for the information needed. The Shadows here gathered by level, so interrogating the weaker ones would be fruitless. Instead he made a beeline for the deeper areas, quickly using his Wild Card ability to soften up his foes for information.

“Th-Th-There’s gonna be a new gathering!”

“Hee! Nii-hee-jima’s Palace is getting a sequel, ho!”

“Why do you care? One punk like you will be crushed under her heel.”

Every Shadow he interrogated met their end afterwards. But why? Weren’t they giving him what he wanted to know? His mind straddled with the notion that these murderous acts were against the Thieves’ principles; monstrous even. Normally, defeated Shadows would beg for mercy and be set free after relinquishing an item or money. But Ren was knocking as many down as he could, asking the same questions before executing them soon after.

And perhaps that was because tonight all the answers that he was getting were only leaving him unhappy. Each Shadow had strongly implied the possibility that the boy simply did not want to accept, instead leaving him hopeful that he could stop it in time.

“Where is it?!” He yelled, gun pressed against his target’s forehead.

“The new Niijima Palace? Like I’ll tell you.”

The Shadow was greeted with a knife to its throat now as his interrogator spoke again. “Where. Is. IT?!”

“Heh.” Joker was surprised by this response. “It’s not actually ready for us to start hanging out in yet. The mistress needs one more push before her domain is truly born.”

_BANG!_ The Phantom Thief pressed onward, slaying even more Shadows in his wake. _They’re all lying to me_ , he thought to himself. _How could what they say be true?_

When he came to a rest area, he heard a voice in his head as a familiar form materialized near him.

“Temper thyself.” Arsene spoke in the same voice as his master. “Thou is drawing blood to ascertain that which he is deathly afraid of.”

Joker never talked back to any of his Personas, but he felt his hands balling into fists.

“If thou continue on this path, only pain will thoust find for your heart. Use thy intellect, and seek out the tool thou needs to mend what has been broken.”

So cryptic. So foreboding. He essentially had just told himself that his methods were impure. 

And yet the boy continued on. More Shadows were slaughtered, and he wondered if he had learned all he could for the night. Perhaps now he should begin ascending back to the entrance; after all, he still had school in the morning.

_I’ll turn back here. There shouldn’t be a reason for me not to._

As if on cue, he found his path was blocked off by something. It appeared to be yet another Shadow, but the form it took was familiar. Too familiar.

He froze up at the sight, his cool facade finally being broken. Joker’s brain clashed with his eyes, refusing to accept the knowledge being transmitted. Both of his hands began to tremble slightly, and his shoulders grew tense. There wasn’t any real sort of temperature in Mementos, yet he felt his body begin to shiver anyway.

Indecisiveness took over his mind; his hands debated between reaching for his knife, pistol, or mask. The Shadow had not taken notice of him yet; should he use this opportunity to launch an attack?

_“The mistress needs one more push before her domain is born.”_

No. His gloved hands found themselves back at his side, and then into his coat pockets. There would be no confrontation, only him silently walking away and returning to the nearest exit. Live and let be.

Had he waited a few moments more, he would have seen the sadness contained within the Shadow, written across her face as she turned to view what was no longer there.

\------

When Ren returned to reality in Leblanc, there was a different emotion overtaking his thoughts compared to when he’d set out earlier. Laying back in bed, sleep still repeatedly escaped him. It was close to 3am now, and yet all he could do was stare directly at his wooden ceiling, emotions being stirred within him as the boy processed what he’d learned tonight.

Did he want to cry? Or scream at the ceiling? Frustrated with his unrest, he reached for his smartphone. No new messages, which did not surprise him, but he found his fingers tapping out Makoto’s number once more.

“Hi, you’ve reached Makoto Niijima. I’m unable to answer my phone right now, so please leave a message following the tone.”

Again and again he heard that recording, and every single time it made him more uncomfortable. Ren wanted to speak with the person behind that voice for real. His eyes found their way back to the ceiling as the brain contemplated what to do now. Even though he’d just spent a few hours roaming Mementos and getting into fights, his mind wouldn’t stop thinking long enough for the body to register fatigue.

The boy sat up, observing the moonlight emitting a heavenly glow into his abode. He didn’t own a mirror, yet his mind perfectly pictured the expression on his face currently. A heavy breath exited from his mouth as he tried processing his emotions further.

Wait until morning. That’s what he would do. He would find and confront her about the situation. With Haru and Morgana. Yes.

_Flop._ Back down onto his mattress, Ren’s eyelids shut themselves slowly, trying to latch down his body before he could rise again and do something foolish.

\------

“Ren-kun!”

  
The transfer student yawned as he greeted his friend. “Morning, Haru.”

“You look exhausted. Did you sleep last night?”

His eyes weren’t meeting hers, instead pointing down towards the asphalt road leading up to the front gates of Shujin Academy. “...no, I didn’t.”

Haru’s own expression was one of sadness. “You were thinking about Mako-chan, weren’t you?”

“I…” He looked around himself. The two of them were standing in the small space with vending machines down the path from Shujin. “...I did some digging.”

“Digging?” She took a moment to realize what he meant. “You went to Mementos...”

“WHAT?!” Ren felt Morgana’s small head burst out from his backpack. “You told me you were asleep all night!”

“And I’m glad you bought it then. But I wanted to reveal my findings once we’d grouped up.”

Haru began pacing slightly in the little space, glancing at the jubilant vending machines. “What did you learn?”

“Whatever it is,” Morgana commented inquisitively, “it didn’t make him happy.”

Staring up at the sky, then taking a pair of deep breaths, Ren announced to his teammates his discovery as calmly as he could manage himself to.

“Makoto’s lost control of her Shadow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short one this time. I'm not sure if my method of developing a Palace's birth is accurate honestly, any opinions?


	6. Hurt

“Ms. Niijima, is there something troubling you? The staff always talk about how well-composed you are, but I don’t see that today.” Ms. Kawakami asked her as they sorted through papers together.

“No, I’m fine…” was all Makoto said back.

Her teacher shook her head in disagreement. “You’re unhappy. I’ve been teaching you for several years now, Niijima, and you’ve never looked as glum as you do today.”

Makoto did not respond again, only finishing her duties for Kawakami and exiting the room. Intending to go left, she instead made a sharp turn right when she spotted the face she did not wish to see.

“Makoto!” A boy slowly broke his walk into a run trying to close distance with her, only for Makoto to hurriedly hide in the washroom where he couldn’t follow.

“Damn it…” Ren muttered under his breath as he pounded the brick wall with his fist. He’d never seen her maneuver to avoid him so quickly, not even when she was stalking him back in June. Were they truly broken up after what happened at lunch yesterday?

“That was unlike her. The instant she saw you she bolted away.” ...is what Morgana would have likely said had Ren not left him in Haru’s care before coming to find his supposedly former girlfriend. For now he hid himself behind a corner, attempting to wait out Makoto’s exit. His brain was busy thinking of how he could confront her without getting forceful. 

When Makoto finally did exit the washroom though he was appalled at what he saw, for the student council president had held up a book to her face, trying to look incognito as she walked forward.

“Unbelievable…” Ren mumbled to himself, surprised that she’d try a failed trick again. He wasted no time or energy instinctively peeling the book down to view her face as he did before.

“Mmnh...” Makoto wanted to panic but said nothing, not even meeting his glance.

“Makoto, why are you avoiding me?” That came out a little harsher than he intended.

“...” Still no reply from her.

Ren glanced away from her wincing face, thinking for a moment again before saying “Can we talk? Just the two of us?”

The only noise he heard from the girl was a sigh of uncomfort.

“Please.” She saw his face transition from irritation to genuine concern.

“...alright. Let’s go to the council room.” Both of them made their way to the place where Makoto often gathered her council members to conduct business for the student body. Ren’s attempt to hold her hand was rejected, which gave him a red flag yet that he filed away for later. Once they’d seated themselves, with Makoto still not making eye contact, he spoke first.

“Mako, I’m not sure what it is that’s causing you to avoid me, but you need to tell me about it.”

Though the girl wore a glum expression, she now looked at him with listening intent. “About what..?”

“First, what did you do yesterday when you left us on the roof?” Ren pointed with one finger. “Haru, Morgana, and I went looking but we couldn’t find you.” 

“Oh, I tried getting through Sis’ Palace on my own...but then I realized that was stupid of me.”

_ That confirms it then.  _ The boy thought to himself.  _ She stopped at the House of Darkness as we found and turned back. _

“I wasn’t feeling good afterwards, and was...well…” her gaze shifted towards the windows “...too embarrassed to face you all again. All I did was return home and study the rest of the day. I didn’t even eat…”

Makoto expected admonishment for her actions, but was only given a more concerned look on Ren’s face. “...Makoto, do you think you can fix this?”

“F-Fix what?”

Ren sighed and stood up, pacing over to the window. “The others and I debated over whether or not to tell you.”

“What?” She stood up and closed distance with him, having to look upwards because of their height difference. “Ren, what is it you’re hesitant to tell me?”

Coldly, he stated the fact to her. “Makoto, your Shadow has broken away from you. I saw it in Mementos last night.”

“...What? That can’t be true. I-”

Makoto’s expression changed as she realized she could no longer hear Anat’s voice in her mind. 

“No...Anat...Anat is gone…!”

The girl’s eyes grew wide, her whole body stiffly paralyzed in fear. Slowly, she took a step back, and then another, and another until she nearly collided with the table behind her. She shivered in place as new thoughts came racing to the surface. 

Ren could find no words to describe the look of sheer horror spread across her face. He wasn’t sure what kind of reaction to expect from her, but a tinge of uncomfortability grew from the pit of his spine and slowly crawled up his backside.

Makoto found herself in a cold sweat as her breathing grew heavier. “No...I...this means...I’m useless now…”

Slowly but worryingly, Ren approached his lover. “Makoto, it’s alrigh-”

“No...no!” She found her knees down on the floor, her hands scraping tears off her light cheeks. “I...I...I…!”

Wary, Ren knelt down himself and reached a hand to her. “Makoto, it’s fine.”

“Fine…?!” The girl only broke down further. “Ren...I’ve been saying I’m fine to everyone, and look where it got me! I’ve lost control of my Shadow...I’m no better than Kaneshiro...or Okumura...or even my sister!...”

“We...we saved them…” He was losing confidence in his words, his body telling him to step back. 

“...I’m done for…” Makoto could not find the resolve in herself to stand back up to full height again.

Ill-timed was Ren’s response. “Mako, we can change your heart…”

“Ch-...change my heart…?” For the first time since she knelt down, her face was fully visible to him again. “Like...I’m a common criminal...?”

Her opposite gulped as he realized the graveness carried in those words to her. “N-No wait, I didn’t mean-”

“I...I’m not a criminal! I’m just...being pulled in every direction!” She stood up with roaring vigor, yelling to him. “The world puts these pressures on me and expects me to bear them all at once! I can’t take it! I-I can’t!”

Ren, caught in fear of Makoto now, took a step back. “Makoto, listen to yourself. This is how you were before you became a Phantom Thief. Breathe, you’ve just had a rough few days.”

“No, Ren…” she shook her head before turning away from him, “...this is how it’s always been for me. I thought I had escaped my troubles when I became a Thief, and yet they’ve caught up to me again…”

Afraid to respond, the boy attempted to choose his words carefully. “You’re still one of us Makoto, don’t let all your growth go to waste.”

“Waste?!” She got fired up again, turning only her neck to look at the boy. “I have a Shadow! That means my heart is impure, just like Sis’!” Then her face drained of energy again as she made a startling realization. “Oh my god...I  _ am _ like her…”

Weakly, Ren only said “M-Makoto?”

Now realizing how she’d been yelling at her lover and playing victim like a coward, Makoto’s anger vanished as the girl wept further, grabbing her bag and bursting out of the student council room quickly. 

Ren wasted no time in following as she hurried downstairs faster than he could. “Wait, Makoto! Please!”

“Leave me alone!” She yelled, making her way out the front door and hurrying down the road, still running as fast as possible. “I’m terrible!”

A sudden halt; she felt contact with another person before looking behind her to see that Ren was holding her by the hand, almost ready to cry himself. “Please...let me help you...I love-”

She threw him off and continued running, leaving the boy alone on the road to watch until she was out of his field of vision. Stunned, he felt tears of his own trickling down his face, moving into the vending machine corner again where he hoped people wouldn’t see him. 

After a few minutes, a horrible realization dawned on him. Hurrying now into a nearby alley and pulling out his phone, he started yelling into the navigation app.

“Lost, hurt, broken, wounded, betrayed…”

Then he stopped to remember: a Palace needed a keyword that was a location, not an adjective.

“Uh...school?”

_ “Conditions have not been met.” _

“Military base?”

_ “Conditions have not been met.” _

“Hm…” Those were decent guesses, but not the right thinking. Lost. Makoto felt lost, as if she was trapped in her problems with no way out.

“Maze?”

_ “Conditions have not been met.” _

He needed a more specific word.

“L...Labyrinth…?”

He didn’t know how to react when the nav spoke back to him  _ “Conditions have been met. Starting navigation.” _

With that, his body was moved across worlds, and his clothes changed to that of his Phantom Thief attire, startling him. Stepping out of the alley, his mind lacked the tenacity for him to express aloud what he saw beyond a simple “No…”

All of Tokyo had undergone a metamorphosis. Ren had expected to only see Shujin Academy be changed, like with Kamoshida’s Palace, yet his eyes did not lie to him; each building and street had been irrevocably transformed into things they were not. As he prowled up and down the road he could see new architecture where there wasn’t before; labyrinthine structures twisted and stretched across the cityscape, some looking entangled with vines while others bore modern aesthetics. There were multiple nooks and pathways to entertain, many of which only resulted in dead ends.

His ultimate assumption had been correct, and the young boy found himself on the floor crying as reality hit him inside the Metaverse.

Makoto’s Palace had been born, and he was the one most responsible for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gosh, I really hope this chapter is sufficient. I delayed releasing it because I wasn't sure if it was good enough, but then that's not fair to my audience. I'm not sure if the Shadow bit makes sense, but going by the research I've done I think it's okay. As always, feedback is greatly appreciated.


	7. Unity

“Ren-kun! Where have you been?” A worried girl burst from her seat as the boy gloomily met them on the rooftop again.

Morgana perked up. “Where’s Makoto? Did she agree to help us change her heart?”

Ren said nothing, only sloppily walking forward with horrid posture and slouching down on the chair across from Haru. He buried his face in his hands and wept a little.

“R-Ren-kun? What happened?” Haru grew fearful from the implications of his entrance.

“It’s as I feared.” Morgana’s feline form hopped onto the table with dour suspicions. 

“What? What’s as you feared?!” Their friend trembled in fear of what knowledge she lacked.

Under his breath, the boy mumbled to the two of them. “...Makoto...has a Palace…”

“Wh-What?!” Haru almost screamed to all of Tokyo. “Ren-kun, what did you do?! What happened between the two of you?!”

Morgana shook his head as Ren’s sobbing became more apparent. “Haru, let him collect his thoughts.”

Haru didn’t know what emotion to focus on expressing right now, so she took Morgana’s advice for Ren and closed her eyes to draw in several breaths. There was blissful silence between the trio for what seemed like a while, before the girl spoke again. Her voice had regained its composure and now spoke with an air of authority.

“Ren-kun, look at me.”

Finally, Ren’s face lifted off his hands to see the girl sitting across from him, who looked cross yet not disapproving.

“Good. Now, tell us what you saw in Mako-chan’s Palace.” Haru kept her focus, channeling as much energy as possible to avoid breaking down over her friend as he did. For someone who had recently lost her father, she was remarkably strong-willed.

Ren needed to draw in a few breaths himself, and then looked away briefly before speaking. “...I found it using the key word ‘labyrinth’. It envelops as much of the city as I can see.” One hand found its way to his chin before he announced his suspicions. “It must be a reflection of how lost she feels again, like being trapped in a place with multiple dead ends. The scale probably stems from her thinking the whole world is putting pressure on her right now.”

Morgana pondered over this. “Makoto isn’t a bad person though; there’s no way her desires have become distorted like the other Palace rulers we’ve encountered. I can’t imagine it’s as big as it looks, or that the Shadows occupying it are very strong.”

Ren pointed a finger at the cat with some enthusiasm restored. “You’re right. A labyrinth is designed to look massive, but becomes small once you learn the fastest way out.”

“So we have to change her heart then…” Now Haru grew a little weary. “And while we still haven’t finished her sister’s own Palace…”

Upon hearing that Ren felt his heart skip a beat. He’d completely forgotten about Sae’s Palace and the police investigations; what would the rest of the Thieves say when they learned their second-in-command had succumbed to despair and created a new obstacle for them?

“We can’t let the others find out about this.” He declared boldly, placing both hands onto the table with vigor. “The group will become even more splintered if the rest learn that one of us has birthed a Palace of her own.”

“But Ren-kun, what about the deadline?” Haru questioned him.

“We have time. We need to change Makoto’s heart and destroy her Palace as soon as possible.”

Morgana agreed but had another point. “With just the three of us, it could take a while.”

This stopped Ren for a moment; yes, with a team of three as opposed to nine a Palace infiltration would take too long to successfully pull off. Yet he abundantly refused to let the rest of the core team know about this, afraid of the long-term repercussions it could have. There had to be a solution to this dilemma...

Then, a new idea dawned on the Amamiya boy, and though he disliked the notion he still found himself speaking to his teammates on the prospect, to which both reluctantly agreed. After making a call, he laid down their new plan.

“I’m going to tell the others that we’re putting a temporary halt on Niijima’s Palace to refocus on our own lives a little. Then we’ll head downstairs to a quiet location away from other people where he’ll meet us, and begin our infiltration.”

Morgana found himself smiling at how fast Ren had found his resolve again, while Haru shared his determination to save their friend.

On the outside, Ren Amamiya appeared quite content once more, yet his inner self still felt as though something was ajar. His confident smile nearly tapered into a frown before he caught himself, now leading the group back down through the school.

They were going to do this. They were going to save Makoto from her loss of direction, whatever it took.

\------

“My dearest apologies for the extended wait.” A stunt of trifled laughter followed before he spoke again. “Traveling to your school is difficult for me because of my popularity. I had to duck out of public streets a few times in order to avoid getting mauled by my fans.”

No one replied to him. The tension of the meeting was readily apparent.

Akechi brushed his scarf with one hand. “So, what is it you called me here for?”

“Important business that you can’t share with the rest of the team.” Morgana spoke first.

“Oh?” Akechi’s smile dropped. “And what might that be?”

Ren stepped forward to address their unlikely ally. Even though this was his idea, he felt a twinge of hesitation, knowing how great of a risk he was making. “...Makoto has a Palace, and we want- no,  _ need _ your help to destroy it.”

Usually someone not easily fazed, Akechi took a moment to digest this change of events. “This is bad. Very bad indeed.”

“Akechi-kun…” Haru’s hands were clasped around her chest “...please don’t tell the others. The four of us need to help Mako-chan as soon as possible, before the deadline for the police investigation.”

The detective nodded. “So that’s why you told us to take a break from Sae-san’s infiltration. Hm, if I may ask: why did you choose to contact me and not one of the others?”

Ren gave an appropriate response: “Because you’re good at keeping secrets.”

At this, Akechi laughed before bowing with respect. “Very well. I defer to you, our leader, to manage this unexpected operation which I am lending my services towards.”

That was all Ren needed to hear. He had the group huddle in close together to ensure they all listened well. “Alright, since we won’t have Futaba navigating for this infiltration, we’ll have to do recon ourselves today. Akechi, you’ve proven to us that you have an analytical mind. Will you be comfortable getting an idea of Makoto’s Palace for us?”

“Consider it done.”

“Good. We have a full team assembled now, so let’s head in there.” He put his hand in the center of the group. “For Makoto.”

“For Mako-chan.” Haru placed her own hand over his.

“For Queen.” Morgana lifted one paw into the group.

“Yes, for the Niijimas.” Akechi was a bit slower to join in.

“One more thing.” Ren spoke up again after they’d all separated and began preparing for the first infiltration. “Makoto knows about her Shadow, but not her Palace. If you make contact with her, do  _ not  _ tell her what has happened. The last thing we need is her discovering this place and making things harder for us.”

Everyone nodded in agreement, though Akechi as usual had an interjection. “This may be out of my jurisdiction to speak on, but would it not be prudent to try and secure Makoto’s own help in destroying her Palace?”

“That won’t do.” Morgana shook his fuzzy head. “Because Makoto’s Shadow has separated from her again, she no longer has her Persona to use.”

“I see.’ Akechi looked glum. “That is most unfortunate.” He appeared to want to say something more, but withdrew it. “...Very well then, no more time to waste.”

“What was the codeword again, Ren-kun?” Haru had her phone ready.

“Labyrinth.”

_ “Conditions have been met. Starting navigation.” _ came the voice from the Okumura-branded cell phone. The group was transported to a place that should not have existed, in hopes they could render that true once again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Been a while, huh? This is the point where I kinda slowed down work on this fic, but recently I've had motivation come back to me (probably cause school is boring, f*** covid). I'm really expecting the decision to bring Akechi in over the main PTs controversial, but trust me I have plans for it. Hope you all are doing well and enjoying this.


	8. Portent

Her door slammed with immaculate force. She hadn’t even said hello to Mrs. Ishizuka, who always greeted Makoto when they saw each other in the building. No, she’d run past in desperation to make it to her room.

Makoto’s room; personalized over the years. Wooden shelves lined with textbooks that had been used for hours upon hours of studying, trophies and awards signifying years of accolades, and Buchimaru-kun merchandise in every free space. It was her safe place, her own abode to hide away from her troubles. 

But today, she found herself slumped against the door, knees pressed on her forehead. The troubles were within her, totally inescapable.

She didn’t know how to feel, let alone _what_ she should be feeling. Was she guilty of something? No… she wasn’t a criminal. But then why did her Shadow separate from her?

Her Shadow. The way Ren had put it, it didn’t seem like a very bad thing. And yet she had never wanted to cry out more. Was this how Futaba felt when she became a hermit and fell into reclusive depression? Makoto was too scared of letting anyone else find out to ask.

The girl was upset; why had this happened? And what was she going to do about it?

Ren. Ren would not stand idly by while his lover was in distress. And yet she felt too ashamed to face him after all that had transpired between the two of them lately.

Shaking her head and standing up, she felt there wasn’t another course of action to follow.

_Bzzz bzzz._ The group chat came alive with Ren telling everyone that the Thieves would be going on hiatus for a few days. Naturally, all of the other members raised questions over this sudden turn of events, but Ren deflected as best he could.

Makoto felt anguished, knowing he likely would come after her relentlessly to try and mend things, though she wasn’t sure whether he’d do so through the Metaverse or the real world.

Strangely, she noticed Akechi did not have a sharp objection to the change of plans, which she found odd. Everyone else was wary of this man who had effectively blackmailed them into letting him join their team, yet now he was complacent with a very suspicious twist?

The girl shook her head. She was delusional, and she needed rest. Flopping face first into her bed, Makoto wondered whether she should cry or not. No one else had known about their Shadow like this, and she could not tell if feeling sorry for herself was a sign of patheticness or not. It was more accurate to say she felt trapped, like a bird in a cage.

She wanted to be let out, and she knew Ren- no, Joker -would work towards that. Should she help him? Could she help him? No… Anat’s voice still did not call to her when she beckoned. Without powers anymore, she could effectively no longer be a Phantom Thief.

Now the girl found herself in tears. How pathetic of her to find herself in this predicament, and play the victim card when cornered about it. Powerless was she to do anything about this, just like when her father was killed. How she wished he was around to comfort her. 

In the back of her mind, she knew she should be studying, but couldn’t muster the energy for it tonight. She wept for what seemed like hours, ignoring notifications from her phone. Makoto knew she had to make herself decent in case Sae made it home tonight, although she lacked the drive to prepare dinner.

Nothing. She wanted to do absolutely nothing. Her world had collapsed in on itself and turned her into a bad person, just like the ones she had brought down with the Phantom Thieves. 

The girl felt shackled to her bed as she lay there, motionless and unwilling to do anything else tonight.

\-----

“Incredible.” was the first word that escaped Crow’s lips.

“Whoa!” Mona examined the elaborate architecture that made up Makoto’s Palace. “This is bigger than I had anticipated.” From their entrance position, they could go any number of ways.

Joker remained silent as Noir gave her observation. “It really is a labyrinth… but why?”

Mona turned to Joker as he made his deductions. “Joker’s told me that Makoto has felt lost in the past, as her life pulls her in different directions like family and academics. If I had to theorize…” He put one paw to his rounded chin “...the different paths we see around us are likely themed around her life hardships.”

“Then she made a mistake.” Crow muttered.

“What?”

“What do you mean?” Joker looked at him.

“It’s simple, really.” Crow’s hands moved around so as to illustrate his point. “The term labyrinth has become synonymous with the similar term maze in modern language. Therefore, what we think is a labyrinth could actually be a traditional maze.”

Joker thought about this. “A maze has multiple paths to choose from, but a labyrinth only leads to the center. So that means...we’re either at the entrance, or the exit.”

“Correct. You’ve done your research too, I see.”

Joker slowly began feeling uncomfortable. “Let’s assume it’s still a labyrinth: we don’t know where any of these paths lead, only that they’re likely to be based on aspects of Makoto’s life. But they all head to a center point, most certainly the location of her treasure.” 

And his discomfort grew as Crow looked directly at him to say “Luckily for us, we have a premium source of information on how to navigate this place.”

He stared at his opposite. “You want me to tell you what Makoto likes?”

“Not just that: tell us everything. The more we know about her desires, the easier it will be to reach the center, which should reflect what she really wants. Only then can we properly conduct our heist.” 

Noir could see Joker tensing up.

“You say that as if Makoto is evil.”

At this Crow shook his masked head. “‘Evil’ is subjective. At present, she is our opposition in the way of completing our goal, no? That makes her the enemy.”

“Makoto is _not_ -!”

His arm, suddenly raised up to shoulder level, was only held back by Noir. Joker looked at her, then at Crow, and finally at himself. He grit his teeth, letting Noir release him so as to regain his composure. “I’m sorry.”

“Do not be. I understand how much this situation weighs heavily on your heart.” Crow hadn’t flinched at all, as if he were expecting that reaction from his leader. “But now you must understand that you cannot let your feelings for Makoto cloud your judgement. You’re our leader; act as one.”

Joker felt his hand curling up into a fist again, but kept his arm down. He had personally asked Akechi to be a part of this campaign after all. 

_Keep your head up and look forward._ He thought to himself. _For Makoto._

“Now, tell us what Makoto likes.”

Driving his hands into his coat pockets, Joker thought aloud. “...Well, her dream for adulthood is to be a police commissioner.” The boy paced a little as his mind worked. “She also enjoys Yakuza films, driving, research, and... Buchimaru-kun.”

“Buchimaru-kun?” Crow seemed amused by this. “The panda mascot merchandise that’s no longer sold at retail?”

“Y-Yeah, her room is full of it.”

Noir and Mona didn’t seem to find an opening in this conversation for them.

“Mm. And now what about her dislikes?”

“Darkness, ghosts, accusations, injustice…”

“...and her sister.” Crow finished his sentence for him.

Joker was starting to think that they should have gotten the whole group together. “Yes, Makoto has a tense relationship with her sister. They had a fight recently that contributed to the birth of this Palace.”

Having ascertained what he needed, it was Crow’s turn to think. “Thank you. Now, we need to approach this in the best way possible. The scale of this Palace and our limited timeframe will make swift progression difficult.”

Finally Mona was able to rejoin the conversation. “We have to learn about what each path entails. Based on what Joker said, the one themed around law & order should be what we follow to reach the center.”

“Then that means the rest would just be dead ends, wouldn’t they?” Noir lamented.

“Possibly, if this Palace is a maze as well.”

“That’s sad. I don’t think one should limit themself in life.”  
  
An idea came into Joker’s head upon hearing that, but he withheld it for now.

Crow delivered the ultimatum. “Then we must make rapid progress before an ill fate befalls both of the Niijimas.” He looked up at the architecture wrapped in vines around them. “How terrible for them to both be lost like this…”

Joker merely nodded, whilst hiding his own pains. 

They had to do this. They had to clear this Palace as fast as possible, and steal Makoto’s Treasure to mend her broken heart. That meant forging and sending the girl a personalized calling card…

“Joker?” He felt a hand tug on his sleeved arm. Noir was standing close to him. “Are you okay?”

“Fine.”

Noir leaned into his ear, watching as Mona and Crow debated which way to go. Whispering, she said “Ren-kun, if you need to talk, I am always willing to listen.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” She released him, and their leader repositioned himself to the front of the group. 

After some more debate, the group decided to head upwards first, as Crow deduced the lower areas to likely be them heading backwards in Makoto’s life. Joker had more thoughts about this, but again he kept them to himself.

At the top of their ascension, there was a classic fork in the road. Two open tunnels with vines stretching lengthwise. Both were much larger than one might expect.

Noir glanced from one path to the other, noticing that their entrances appeared identical. “Should we split up?”

“Too risky.” Joker shook his head. “We don’t know what’s lurking in here, and we have less members than normal.”

“But we need some way to learn which path is the right one.” Noir wanted to get moving. “How about we explore one path at a time, just enough to learn what each one contains?”

Joker looked at Crow, who spoke up again. “That is our safest option, Noir, but not our most fastest.”

Now Noir looked at him with purpose. “That may be so, but every second we spend here debating is time taken out of saving our friend.”

“Would you rather rush blindly into the unknown?” Crow gestured to the right path behind him. “Be my guest.”

“Enough.” Joker didn’t want Noir trying to punch their teammate now too. “We’ll do what you suggested Noir, because you’re right: we’re short on time.”

“Good.” She appeared relaxed to have won out. “Which one first?”

“Let’s do the right one.”

“Allow me to take point.” Crow was already walking towards their chosen route. The other three followed behind.

As they walked, Joker patted his head. He couldn’t help thinking there was more than meets the eye to this Palace. The scale of it didn’t seem fitting for someone strong-willed and just like Makoto. There had to be more they were missing, and not all of it was likely to be found here.

“Hold.” Crow paused them as they neared a corner, peeking his head around. Joker and the others heard footsteps as they waited behind him.

“A Shadow.” Mona whispered, having sensed it. “What does it look like, Crow?”

“Heh. I knew it.”

Crow moved the party further ahead to see the patrol before them: a large, humanoid creature with features from a horse. It carried a two-handed axe in its hands as it moved back and forth. Behind it was a rather expansive grotto.

“A centaur of Greek legend. No surprise the Shadows would take that form in this place.”

“Should we fight it?” Noir asked.

“I think so.” Joker responded after a pause. “Knock it down and we can interrogate it for information on the Palace.”

“I concur.” With that, Crow attacked the beast, which dissipated and reappeared as a Cerberus. 

“Extremely fitting!” Crow seemed to laugh with delight as they battled the foe. When they did manage to knock it down, Joker spoke first.

“Tell us about this place.”

“Hrrghh...no escape for her...no escape…” 

Its raspy, snarling voice frustrated him. “Whose Palace is this?”

“Impatient one...this place’s builder is trapped with it...the beast will kill you before you ever free her…”

Noir and Mona looked at each other in confusion. Crow stepped forward to ask his own question.

“Where might we find this builder? Tell us, before we grow impatient.”

The Cerberus merely huffed at the boy. “Builder not want to be found...builder want to escape...but there no escape for her…”

Already Joker could feel sweat pouring down his face. These words were not giving him pleasant thoughts.

“Lend me your power.” He said before Crow could get malicious ideas.

“Me no want to work with you. You hurt me.”

“That’s right. I hurt you, and now I want you to hurt others with me.”

The white beast appeared interested in this. “Now you want me to hurt more for you?”

“Yes. And with me, not for me.”

“Hrm...me will accept.”

Making its vows, the Cerberus became a mask for Joker to use at his disposal. Normally he would smile and relish in new power, but today he merely put his weapons away and continued walking with his team.

“Excellently done.” Crow complimented him. “Now we have a lead.”

“I don’t like this.”

“I don’t care if you do.” Crow replied bluntly. “Focus on the task at hand. You want to save Makoto- ‘the builder’ -as that Shadow said, no?”

Joker had no reply for him. The grotto held nothing of value to them, though Noir thought it looked pretty. Pressing on brought them through a left turn, and then a right turn. 

Awkward silence in the group briefly ended as Mona spoke aloud. “If we keep progressing, we should encounter Makoto’s Shadow soon enough. She’s guaranteed to be hostile towards us, so stay on guard.”

“Ren,” Noir spoke to him again as they snuck past more centaur guards “you’re keeping thoughts to yourself, and it’s hurting you.”

He didn’t look at her as he spoke “It can wait. I need to focus.”

To his surprise, he felt Noir’s hand on his shoulder. “Holding things in is what got you and Mako-chan into this. You need to be more open with everyone, especially yourself.”

“...” Joker was missing his calm & cool aura that he always had. Noir was right; it seemed to be throwing their team off.

After a long trek of twists and turns, Crow seemed delighted to have found a new path. “This way!” he beckoned.

“We must be making progress now.” Mona stated. “Hopefully this leads us to…”

Unexpectedly the Thieves came to a stop. A solid wall, wrapped in vines like other places in the Palace, barred their progression.

“...a dead end?”

“What?!” For once, Crow was caught off guard. “This isn’t right! The labyrinth of legend never had anything like this!”

Joker opened his mouth to speak…

“Why have you come here?”

...and turned around to see that which he did not wish to see.

“Who said that?” Crow bellowed as he turned with Mona and Noir.

“It’s her…” Joker lamented, stiffening up.

Appearing before them, yellow eyes ablaze, was the form of Shadow Makoto.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finally here. This chapter was very difficult for me to produce, as I rewrote the Palace scenes about 4 times at least. Days and weeks of new ideas have finally seen me bear fruit for you to enjoy. Much of the story has been developed now, the stakes are only going to get higher. Thank you all for sticking with me so far.
> 
> If you like what I do, I've just opened a Ko-Fi! Even the absolute smallest donation would be deeply appreciated.  
> https://ko-fi.com/tlk4554
> 
> Cheers to you all, and stay safe in these difficult times.


	9. Sensation

In the face of an enemy, a Phantom Thief would show no fear, only their face as their mask was removed for battle. 

Now, he removed his own mask, but not to fight; only to glimpse with his two eyes in full a terrible sight.

Standing in front of him was an apparition of his beloved...except it wasn’t quite her. No, by textbook definition it was a fractured demon in need of punishment to be sent back to its true self. Yet even here, he was captivated by her constant beauty.

Shadow Makoto wore a royal blue chiton with lavish robes, silver jewelery, and crude sandals around her feet. Her blazing yellow eyes looked unnatural on her unpleasant face.

“What compels you to invade my labyrinth?” She asked.

“Makoto…” Ren muttered.

“Are you here to help me escape?”

“Yes...yes!” He took the Shadow’s hands in his own, completely disregarding all professionality. “I-I just need to change your heart and-”

Shadow Makoto brushed Ren off, to his apparent dismay. “So you seek my Treasure then?”

Crow shook his head.

“I- well, you-”

“Enough.” Shadow Makoto waved an arm. “If you are not my ally, then you must be my enemies. No matter; the Minotaur will ravage you all- a pity, I say -and then I will finish my wings to escape.”

Crow took a careful step forward. “Pardon me, Builder, but am I correct to assume that this whole labyrinth is of your design and construction?”

“It is, yes.” Shadow Makoto’s echoing voice gave Ren goosebumps.

“And you were then imprisoned with the Minotaur you helped seal away, by King Minos no less?”

“How astute of you. Perhaps you can be of aid, unlike him.” She was of course, referring to Ren, who still hadn’t reattached his mask. He was visibly hurt, even as Noir came to comfort him. She couldn’t tell exactly what he was feeling yet, though.

“Pray tell then, where might I find the Minotaur to do away with him?” Crow inquired, clearly having deduced something greater behind the mystery of this Palace.

“That knowledge is beyond my realm of understanding.” Shadow Makoto’s arms crossed as she put one hand on her chin, just as her real self would. “A beast of his madness has nary a logical course here. No, he is only driven by a pathetic path of chaos, and woe be those in his way.”

“Then I humbly ask you, Builder, to let myself- and my companions -assist you in your escape plan.” Now Crow bowed respectfully, smirking as he did so. “We shall seek out the Minotaur and eradicate him from your labyrinth, therefore removing one major obstacle in your way.”

“Hmm…” Shadow Makoto’s posture was very firm, contrasting heavily with the slouched Ren who couldn’t find his words at the moment. “Assuming you do not interfere with the construction of my wings, and do not tell King Minos anything...very well.” The Palace ruler shook hands with the Phantom Thieves’ current navigator. “We have an accord.”

“Excellent. Now: return to your own business, and let us attend to the end of the Minotaur. When he is gone, I will be sure to inform you.”

The negotiations went swimmingly; Shadow Makoto said no more and merely vanished. As soon as she did, the wall blocking their progression retracted, leading into a significantly larger portion of the labyrinth. 

“Wow…” Mona commented. “That was expertly done, Crow.”

“Please, it was trivial.” Crow shrugged. “I merely deduced the themings of this Palace based on the knowledge I have of the legendary labyrinth from Greek history. From there I utilized the correct information to gain us further access within.”

By now Joker had re-equipped his mask and found his voice again. “Perhaps I did make the right choice to bring you along.”

Hearing his leader speak, Crow’s smile faded to be replaced by a scowl. “And yet I am very disappointed in you, Joker.”

“What?”

“Come now...you mean to tell me that you have successfully pulled off several heists over the past months, yet throw away all of that experience now?” He pointed a finger accusingly at Joker. “I told you to put your emotions away for this mission, but you nearly put us in ill favour of the Palace’s ruler. Think of what would have happened had I not been here to save your hide!”

Defensively, Joker replied with “I...I just want to help her…”

Crow laughed at him mockingly. “Is that so? Then I suggest you _do your job_ , leader. Or perhaps maybe you shouldn’t even be involved if this is too personal a mission for you.”

“Huh?” Noir stepped in. “Hold on, Crow! You haven’t seen what Joker is capable of! You can’t blame him for one mistake!”

“Settle down, Noir.” Crow raised his palm. “I only wish to prevent future errors for him that he could regret.”

It was Noir’s turn to point at someone. “ _You_ don’t know him! He’s hurt from seeing Makoto break down like this, as any human would! If he doesn’t help save her, that will be his biggest regret of all!”

“Noir…” Joker mumbled, surprised at how quickly she’d sprung to defend him, even though they’d been acquainted for only over a month.

“That’s right! You’re not in charge here, Crow!” Mona hobbled in as well. “You’re here to help, not hinder us.”

“I suggest you lobby that statement at the man behind you, for he is more at risk of-”

“NO!” Noir yelled, having moved right in front of Crow now. “Either you stop criticizing Joker and making him feel worse, or none of us will be able to save Mako-chan.”

The two stared at each other, masked eyes unblinking for several moments. Noir was known for being very gentle and soft to many people, but her serious side was to be respected as well. 

Finally, he gave in. “I concede.”

“ **Good**.” She replied frostily, still unhappy with him but looking back at Joker now. “Joker, get yourself together. We have to save our friend before it’s too late.”

Joker, who felt some renewment from seeing Noir and Mona stand by him, agreed. “...Right. Let’s move, people.”

  
  


He proceeded forward before any further discussion could be had to waste their time. For now, Crow’s criticisms of him had been quelled, yet oddly he couldn’t help but agree with them- because the man was right. Joker was acting unprofessional and at risk of jeopardizing their mission because of his feelings for Makoto. Crow’s comments on that, though harsh, seemed to have brought some sense back into his leader nonetheless. Whether that was his true intention or not, Joker did not know.

Their new goal was to find and eliminate the Minotaur lurking within the Palace. As they explored, Crow explained to the group that the entirety of Makoto’s Palace seemed to be based on a Greek legend. In it, the architect Daedalus built a massive labyrinth under King Minos’ court to imprison the Minotaur. After that was done, however, Minos threw Daedalus in a tower to confine his knowledge of said labyrinth, imprisoning his son Icarus as well. The two could not escape by sea or land, so they constructed wings instead.

“I think I remember reading this story in my history class.” Noir commented. “Icarus’ wings melted as he flew too close to the sun, despite his father’s warnings.”

“Correct. Daedalus was hurt, but still escaped to Sicily to live out the rest of his life. When Minos found him, his pursuit ended with him being slain by the daughters of King Cocalus.”

“Hm, if Makoto calls herself the ‘Builder’, then perhaps she is Daedalus in this context?” Mona thought aloud.

“That would be logical.” Joker continued his thoughts. “This is her Palace, and therefore her labyrinth. So...would that make her sister King Minos, then?”

“I believe so.” Crow replied. “Her fight with Sae-san was one of the triggers for this place to be born, making it reasonable for her to take on that role.”

Noir gave them all pause. “But...who is Icarus then?”

All four Thieves stopped to drill up their own answers. Mona posited the chance of a cognitive Ren that could be closer to her treasure. Joker felt disturbed by that, instead suggesting Icarus could be a friend of hers like Eiko. Crow meanwhile said that there might not be someone here representing Icarus at all.

Unable to deduce what they did not know, Joker concluded that they would learn as they continued further in. The Shadows here seemed to fittingly be derived from those of Greek origins as well; besides Cerberus, there were Angels, Norns, and others never before seen such as Empusa. Indeed, Makoto’s Palace was seemingly more central around its theme than others they’d been to.

After what seemed like a gross amount of time, the team had still not found the Minotaur, let alone any trace of it. 

“Do you think now might be a good time to exit for the day?” Joker asked Crow as they relaxed in a safe room.

“Hm? What happened to needing to get as much done as possible?”

“We’re all fatigued from fighting Shadows.” Joker found the opportunity to play to Crow’s personality now. “Besides, I’m certain you’ve learned a lot today that you can stew over for when we return tomorrow.” 

“Hm, a valid point.”

Noir held her hat in her hands. “Ren, are you going to try contacting Makoto when we return?”

Joker nodded at her. “I have to.”

“Tell me,” Crow beckoned, “have you been to her apartment before?”

He was given a strange glare. “Why do you want to know?”

Sheepishly, Crow replied with “Ah, I suppose I am just curious about where Sae-san comes from...”

_Suspicious…_ Joker thought to himself. 

Mona yawned before speaking. “At least we can use this Safe Room to return quickly. I’d hate to go through that section of the labyrinth again. The Treasure doesn’t feel close yet, so we still have a lot of work to do.” His round head turned to face Joker more. “With that said Joker, we should keep open the possibility of bringing in the rest of the team if need be.”

“I was already thinking about that. But only if it comes to it; this is a big enough mess as-is.” He motioned for them to return to the entrance, and then exit Makoto’s Palace. Anxious was the boy to get back, for there was a lot swimming around in his mind.

\------

“We meet here again tomorrow, as soon as school is done. If any of the others ask what we’re up to, deflect their suspicions as best as you can.”

Haru and Akechi nodded.

“Rest up well tonight. We’re going to clear this Palace in record time for Makoto.”

“I will do some research on the Greek legends again so as to ascertain more knowledge about how we can progress.” Akechi bowed before leaving them. “See you all tomorrow.”

“Ren-kun, can you make me a promise?” Haru asked firmly before they began walking towards the subway.

“A promise? Of what kind?”

“Promise me…” The girl paused to make sure she chose accurate wording for this, “...that you won’t try to do anything brash.”

“Brash?” Morgana chimed in.

“What I mean is, don’t do anything that could make Mako-chan feel worse than she is already. She is in a fragile state of mind right now.” 

Ren got the notion Haru was drawing from her recent experience of loss, and chose to respect her words. “I promise, Haru. By next week, Makoto will be with us again.”

Haru nodded quietly, for she had something else to mention. “And don’t worry about Akechi-kun. He may be helpful, but those criticisms were uncalled for. I know how hard this is for you, but I also know that you’ll be able to get through it.”

Her tone had remained consistently unwavered throughout all of that. She cared deeply about seeing this through.

“Your support means a lot, Haru. Thank you.”

“Aren’t you lucky that I found her?” Morgana boasted.

“But Mona-chan, _I_ found _you_.” Their teammate’s lighter self returned to the surface.

“I’d say all of us are lucky then.” Ren laughed with Haru. The three of them enjoyed some lighthearted conversation on the way back to the subway; it was important for them to keep morale up during difficult times. 

\------

“I’m back.”

“Well, there you are.” Sojiro grunted. “Where were you today? Futaba was asking me if I knew.”

“Ah,” Ren dumped Morgana out of his bag, “I was out studying.”

“Really?” Sojiro raised an eyebrow at him. “Were you with your girlfriend?”

He paused momentarily. “...No, she had other plans.”

That satisfied Sojiro, who carried on with the few customers remaining in Leblanc. Ren would be getting dinner from him soon, but for now he hurried on upstairs with Morgana following behind. He intended to write down what they had learned today and plan on how they would steal Makoto’s Treasure. No real idea what it could be, but Akechi had theorized before they parted ways that there had to be a tower somewhere housing it. As the Palace ruler was not their standard villainous quarry, they wanted to try to avoid a battle with them. Akechi’s swift negotiation skills had bought them time to keep exploring, but there was something else bothering Ren. He didn’t get why Shadow Makoto had acted so...coldly, almost as if she were a robot. 

_Robot!_ He realized as he changed clothes. _Makoto’s Shadow must be based on her old self that she’s repressing, where she’s studious but socially inept. And other students called her a robot then because of that._

“I can tell by the look on your face that you’ve figured something out.” Morgana smirked at him. 

Ren explained to the feline what he’d learned.

“You understand this so well now. Akechi may have been harsh on you today, but he’s only recently joined us. Haru and I are putting faith in you still, Ren.”

“Thanks.” Opening his phone, he prepared to try calling Makoto again.

“What are the chances she’ll answer?”

“I don’t know.” The boy held the device to his ear. “I’m going to leave a voicemail if she doesn’t pick up.”

“Don’t say anything that could make things worse.”

\------

_Bzzz bzzz. Bzzz bzzz._

Her phone was vibrating, alerting its owner of an incoming call. Even though she had it face down on her nightstand, she already had a strong idea of who it could be. Picking it up with a single hand, the screen showed the name “Ren Amamiya <3”. The contact photo she had set for him was one Haru had taken of them together at their night in Destinyland. In it, the pair were holding hands under an arch, looking into each other’s eyes. Despite the grim outcome of the evening, Haru had insisted that Makoto use the photo anyway.

The smartphone continued to vibrate in her palm. Time was running out: should she answer him? Makoto was laying in bed, having now removed her school uniform in favour of casual, more comfortable clothes. She had been cuddling with her large Buchimaru-kun plushie, holding it with the same grip as the night her father had died. 

Finally, she pressed the green button to receive. She held the phone up to her ear, though refrained from speaking.

“She answered!” A familiar voice said. “Thank heavens. Makoto, how are you feeling now?”

Makoto was still deeply embarrassed over their last interaction today, and such found difficulty in trying to speak to Ren again.

“I’m...not fine…”

“That’s okay. I just wanted to make sure you hadn’t done anything rash.”

“I can’t. I lost Anat, remember?” Her voice was slightly hoarse; no water had entered her throat for hours.

“I wasn’t talking about your Persona. I-”

“Listen, Ren. You don’t need me anymore. I’m...I’m broken...”

“No, Makoto, please...I’m going to help you…”

“How?” She nearly yelled. “By changing my heart?”

There it was again. Ren went silent on his end, trying to answer that rationally.

“God, this was a mistake. Just...please Ren, leave me alone…”

“I won’t. I love-”

_Beep._ She tossed her phone onto the floor, and put her other arm back around Buchimaru-kun. Sae had already texted Makoto earlier to say that she wouldn’t be coming home tonight, not adding anything else. Makoto had still not eaten or drank anything. She didn’t know what to do right now.

Was it really a mistake to pick up Ren’s call like that? Her heart had moved when she saw his name on the screen, but then something didn’t sit well during their conversation. What had he been up to today after she ran from him? Given the group messages earlier, Makoto had expected him to show up at her door, and yet that had not come to pass. Maybe instead he’d gone to Mementos to find her Shadow, but when she posed that question he didn’t respond. A Shadow in Mementos never took them long to defeat, assuming he got the team together for it. So why...?

A new thought entered the mind of Makoto Niijima. If Ren intended to change her heart, but hadn’t gone to Mementos to do so, that only left one other possibility…

“No!...” She found herself weeping. “I-I can’t...I couldn’t..”

And deep within her Palace, at the tower where her Treasure rested, Shadow Makoto began to cry as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize the length of time between new chapters has gotten long, and I apologize. I hope this one was worth waiting for, and that the story is staying interesting for you all. Cheers.


End file.
